[0:01] Recording in progress.
[0:12] Recreation last year. Okay, we're ready to go. Thank you.
[0:15] We are calling to order the parks and Open Space
[0:18] Advisory committee for January 23, 2025. We will do the
[0:26] roll call, which. Is right here. Drew adams. Present. Trace
[0:35] Baker? Present. Carol Byerly? Present. All of it's Gerald. Janet
[0:41] George? Present. Christine Johnson? Here. Tony Lewis? I'm here. Jackson
[0:47] Mueller? Present. Eric Turner? Here. Full house. Nice job, everyone.
[0:55] Nice to have everyone here. Okay. I'm going to switch
[1:01] this up for a minute and do approval of previous
[1:04] meeting minutes. Do we have a motion to approve? Last
[1:09] month. Trace Baker, Postac. I want to bring up. A
[1:13] minor typo. I know what it is. Or maybe it's
[1:20] a different one. Section 4.2. I'm sorry, section 4.2. Question
[1:29] that other media outreach is. Being planned. Should that be?
[1:34] What? Question. That's not mine. Does anybody know?
[1:46] I found another typo. And. It was just in the.
[1:52] I think the public comment. That just needs to be
[2:01] proofread. There's one place where. I'm trying to find it
[2:06] now with my new glasses, and I'm not going. To
[2:09] find it. But. I would just ask that in the
[2:16] public comment period for items not on the agenda. That
[2:21] it just be proofread. All right, Carol. I was not
[2:28] at the meeting, but I looked at the video and
[2:32] I saw a typo. On the year's highlights. And that
[2:38] video that summarized the years highlights had a typo, and
[2:41] the word is sunset. But it was sus net. So
[2:47] FYI, I'll tell it to the ether, but there was
[2:50] a typo. In the cool video summarizing all the details.
[2:59] Okay, thank you. Is there another typhoon? No. Typos? Polyfits,
[3:05] jail? I just want to say that. I think the
[3:08] newer format. With a little more information, a little more
[3:14] narrative of what was discussed is perfect. It's really between
[3:20] that being brief and yet having the information there. So
[3:23] I really appreciate that. That's great. Agreed. Yeah, I think
[3:27] we've all found it to be much. More helpful. Okay,
[3:31] so noting those changes. Second with that. Okay with those
[3:37] changes. All in favor? Aye, those. Carol and I were
[3:44] not there, so we did not vote. And me also.
[3:54] Great. On our agenda is the election of officers.
[4:04] And this is something we do usually. At the first
[4:08] meeting of the year and. Are you guys ready to
[4:13] elect officers? Trace Baker post hack. May I suggest that
[4:21] we postpone the election of officers? Until the first regular
[4:26] meeting after the county commissioners select postac members. For 2025.
[4:34] Because I know that we've received some emails saying that.
[4:38] It might be February or March before the commissioner's act,
[4:43] and I know that there are some people here. Who?
[4:47] They've said they are not returning. I don't know if
[4:51] we're allowed to make this change. To our bylaws or
[4:58] whatever it is that says we have to. Do officers
[5:02] today? But it makes sense. Yeah, we can, by vote,
[5:07] change that. I think that's perfectly allowable. Let me just
[5:13] ask about the time frame. So we have several members.
[5:20] Reapplying for another term. We have one member who. Is
[5:28] calling it. And. We might not have. People in their
[5:36] seats with confirmation until. March or April. Right. So I
[5:43] just want to make sure I understand. Your time frame
[5:47] trace. Would you think? Election of officers once the dust
[5:51] has settled and everybody's in their position. That's what I'm
[5:55] putting up for discussion. I just want to make sure
[5:58] that. Got the cadence right. So it may be an
[6:02] election of officers in March or April, depending on. How
[6:06] that goes. Okay, Carol. Caroly pose. I think that's a
[6:11] good idea. Because. We aren't really comprised yet and wait
[6:18] until the new POS act is comprised and then we
[6:21] choose our own officer. I think it's a good idea.
[6:26] Other comments? Thoughts? Janet yeah, Janet. George Postac I think
[6:29] it's a good idea this time. I think we have
[6:31] four, which is almost half of us, that might be
[6:34] up for reappointment. So I think it's a really good
[6:37] idea this time. With the numbers. Great other thoughts. Yes.
[6:47] The only thing I'm thinking is introduce yourself. We're not
[6:51] a Friday. Is that if you wait until the new
[6:56] people are seated, you would be asking them to vote.
[7:00] For officers that they've never met before. So there's that
[7:05] consideration. Excellent point. Maybe we just shouldn't have officers at
[7:10] all. Make it a free for all. Other thoughts.
[7:22] Derek, you're kind of a government guy. I will confess.
[7:25] I've reviewed that the bylaws do say. And they were
[7:28] only recently, in 2020, approved that we shall elect our
[7:32] officers at the first meeting. Of the year. I don't
[7:35] think staff would prevent us from delaying that a month
[7:38] or two. We're not proposing to change our bylaws.
[7:53] Christine and then Jackson. Christine johnson posak. I don't know
[7:59] if I'm out of order asking this. But. Who? On
[8:06] the current Posac is applying to comeback. Trace baker. I
[8:13] am. Drew adams? I am. I think that's the extent.
[8:20] So right now, Jackson's seat is up and he is
[8:23] not reapplying. If I'm correct, confirmed. And Paula is not
[8:27] reapplying. So we have two coming back and two who
[8:31] are Xing. Okay, that's helpful to know presumed coming back.
[8:37] They've applied. It's true. Who would like to come back?
[8:40] Let me just say. Yeah, you never know. Jackson hits
[8:43] them. Yeah. I would like to discuss potentially voting today,
[8:48] and then you could revote in March or April. You
[8:53] could do both. Well, dare turn. And I guess I
[8:57] tend to agree. We have this as the first time
[9:00] in months. We have all of us here. I appreciate
[9:07] Renata's comment that. A new set of pos act really
[9:11] doesn't have the experience. Of each other. To, I think,
[9:16] meaningfully. Vote. I guess I would support a vote tonight.
[9:25] If that's the consensus. Trace. Trace Baker. Yeah. The discussion
[9:33] is convincing me that we should. Continue to vote tonight.
[9:39] Other thoughts. True? Yeah. I mean, reading the bylaws. It
[9:45] actually says will not even shall. Elect from among its
[9:49] members the chair and vice chair at the first meeting
[9:51] of each year. The fiscal year or the calendar. Gregorian
[10:00] which count. Counter. Paula. Paula Fitzgerald. I just want to
[10:07] remind people that last year there was election of an
[10:10] officer who was not reappointed. And so then it necessitated
[10:15] going back and doing that election again. So I see
[10:19] some value in waiting until everybody's on the board. But
[10:22] I also agree that. Nice to know who you're voting
[10:27] for in kind of their record and all that, so.
[10:30] I'm going to throw that back to you guys because
[10:32] you'll be the ones living. I nominate. Paula for. Chair.
[10:43] Well. Let me ask you for tonight. Is there any
[10:52] dissent in voting for officers tonight that you're strongly, so
[10:56] strongly convinced we should wait. That you would like to
[11:01] make that case. Carol Byerly Posak, I propose that we
[11:06] extend. Our current confirmation of us terror and Janita's co
[11:13] chair. Until we are newly comprised and then revisit it.
[11:20] And have another vote. We don't have to depose anybody.
[11:26] I think either of us would be happy to be
[11:27] deposed, however. Let's see. I guess.
[11:38] What I'm thinking is we actually have to vote on
[11:41] that, though. Because there has to be a motion. I
[11:43] would second it. So is that a motion that was
[11:46] my imotion. I will make that a motion that we
[11:49] retain our current chair and current co chair. Until. The
[11:54] membership has been reformed. Great. Is there a second? A
[11:59] second? Okay. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed?
[12:08] Okay, the motion passes, and Janet and I will remain
[12:12] in our officer roles until a more thoughtful crew comes
[12:16] along. This could be dangerous. Monarchy. Exactly. I have no
[12:25] executive, okay? So next, do we have Janice Wisman? Good
[12:33] evening. Pos can you hear me? Yes. All right. Great.
[12:37] I'm Janice Wisman. I'm the real estate division manager, and
[12:40] I'm here to give you our 2024 closing summary, which
[12:44] also functions as our annual report. For the real estate
[12:46] division and before. I get started. I want to do
[12:51] what we often do or have been trying to do
[12:53] every time that we bring. An acquisition proposal to you
[12:57] and read the department's land commitment. It's more than a
[13:00] land acknowledgment. I just want to point that out and
[13:02] say that this is a commitment. For our department to
[13:06] do our work differently from now into the future. We've
[13:08] been doing this commitment now for a couple of years
[13:11] at least. To recognize all the cultures and people who
[13:14] have contribute to this special place. So I would like
[13:17] to. If you would indulge me, I'll just read it
[13:20] so we get it. On the record. So for much
[13:23] longer than parks and open spaces. History of stewarding open
[13:26] space the land in this community has been important to
[13:29] the diverse indigenous communities that continue to live here. We
[13:33] are partnering with indigenous people to make meaningful changes to
[13:36] how we do our work. That include indigenous people, incorporate
[13:39] their perspectives and honor their land stewardship, legacy parks and
[13:43] open space operates within modern legal constructs of land ownership.
[13:47] To steward Boulder county open space and accomplish these efforts
[13:50] on behalf of our community. So thank you for that.
[13:54] And now I will not read slides going forward. But
[13:58] I want to give you some highlights, and then we'll
[14:00] look at a few of the more interesting deals we
[14:03] did this year. So in 2024. We had a total
[14:07] of 646 acres that we acquired, including water rights as
[14:11] well. In 15 different acquisitions. We acquired 15 building rights,
[14:17] which is important for our open space program, because by
[14:19] removing building rights, from the land, you prevent the development
[14:22] from happening. And we had a net investment of just
[14:26] over $11.9 million. And I would like to revisit some
[14:31] of those acquisitions, one that we are very excited about
[14:35] is the Wall street mill. If you've been up to
[14:38] Wall street and. This is just next to, down the
[14:44] road a little bit from the assay office. This was
[14:47] only a one acre acquisition, and it only cost $63,000.
[14:50] But we now own the entire mill. The county previously
[14:54] owned half of the mill, and it was very difficult,
[14:57] if not impossible. To do any cultural preservation of that
[15:00] mill site. So now we do own. The whole mill.
[15:02] It's also sound, so there's nothing that needs to be
[15:05] done. Right now. But if something does need to be
[15:08] done, the county can proceed with the project. The Highlands
[15:12] camp was one that was not brought to you because
[15:15] it was a donation, and it was a 294 acre
[15:17] property. It's up by Allens park, and the donation was
[15:21] of a conservation easement to the Estas Valley land Trust.
[15:26] The county assisted with project costs and has a backup
[15:29] holder position in case the Estes Valley land trust ever
[15:32] decides they can't hold the easement anymore. We don't yet.
[15:35] Know the value of that. It's been appraised and. There
[15:40] is a tax season process for them to make sure
[15:43] they get that donation appraised. And do whatever it is
[15:45] they want to do to claim their tax benefits. This
[15:48] property is real interesting because. It has solid view, protection,
[15:52] corridor aspects to it, and it's part of the indian
[15:55] peaks. Environmental conservation area. Those are both features in the
[15:59] Boulder county comprehensive plan. Can I ask a question? Carol
[16:05] byr, Lee Posak. If we. Are not. It's not about
[16:12] the money. But if it's a donation, I would. Be
[16:15] interested in knowing. What additional lands are being brought into
[16:19] the county program. I think. We try to let you
[16:24] know about those as they happen. I haven't been to
[16:27] a few of the meetings this year, so I'm not
[16:28] sure exactly if that happened this year. But. Okay, I
[16:31] guess I didn't recognize that. Okay. Because that'll change the
[16:36] map. Yes, it does. Yes. And then we had a
[16:40] second donation this year, and it was a fee title
[16:42] donation. We're calling this the elk draw property, and it's
[16:45] 40 acres up next to the Tucker property just west
[16:48] of Netherland and Colorado open lands owned that property, and
[16:52] they retained a conservation easement over it, but gave the
[16:55] ownership over to the county, and the county will manage
[16:57] that property in. Conjunction with the Tucker property. The Boulder
[17:02] County Comprehensive Plan identifies this property as having indian peaks
[17:05] environmental conservation area features as well as significant natural communities
[17:10] and the Arapaho ranch and Tucker homestead critical wildlife habitat
[17:14] areas. And we believe the donation value, and that was
[17:17] about $200,000. And then we had another elk property. We
[17:22] were trying to name things, not for people, and this
[17:24] is in a different part of the property or part
[17:27] of the county. Excuse me. We had the elk tracks
[17:29] property, which is a 36 acre piece, and it is
[17:32] on Highway 72 in Cole Creek. Canyon. It's on the
[17:35] north side of the road, and it nearly abuts Reynolds
[17:38] ranch. There's a little slive. Sliver of force service in
[17:41] between this property and Reynolds Ranch. We bought that for
[17:45] the fair. Market value of $535,000. You hopefully remember this
[17:48] one because we did bring it. To you. And the
[17:52] comprehensive plan identifies this as having view protection quarter features.
[17:57] It's also part of the Magnolia Environmental Conservation Area. Has
[18:02] importance for the Winnagar ridge Elkurd migration corridor and significant
[18:06] natural communities, and it also provides the future. But completely
[18:11] unplanned and nothing being planned at the moment, but. The
[18:14] potential for a trail connection to Reynolds Ranch if the
[18:16] county were to ever desire to do that. A property
[18:20] that is just west of Hygiene and north of 66.
[18:23] It's about a mile west of Hygiene, and this is
[18:26] an aerial photo that the realtor provided for us. And
[18:29] I thought that was a nice picture to show you
[18:31] because it puts this in context with Rabbit Mountain. It's
[18:35] 101 acres. It was a $2,975,000. Acquisition. And came with
[18:42] several shares of a significant priority, ditch water rights, that
[18:45] we wanted to acquire as well. The fields are irrigated
[18:49] and very highly productive. And this one is identified as
[18:53] having agricultural lands of statewide importance. Prebble's meadow jumping. Mouse
[18:58] suitable contiguous habitat in what's identified as zone three. For
[19:02] them, it's got the highway 66 view protection corridor. It's
[19:07] actually part of the Rabbit Mountain Environmental conservation area. Even
[19:10] though you can see it's a little distance. Away, and
[19:13] it is part also of the Rabbit Mountain B, one
[19:15] high biodiversity area. And then the one that. Was the
[19:21] very interesting and fun and wonderful acquisition for the year,
[19:25] really the highlight of the year. Was the Haystack Mountain
[19:27] property. This lies on the south side of Oxford Road.
[19:31] It's southeast of Table Mountain. You can't see Table Mountain
[19:33] in this picture, but this is. Another realtor picture that
[19:35] I thought was good shows the feeder canal passing by
[19:39] on the south. End of the property. It's about 106
[19:42] acres. We paid $6.2 million for this. This one was
[19:47] an auction that the county had to participate in. I
[19:50] think Terese told you. About this after it happened. It
[19:53] was a very interesting process and ended up being a
[19:57] live auction that finished in Hong Kong. With a live
[19:59] auctioneer, so it was quite fun. And then this property
[20:04] does have such importance to our community as a natural
[20:07] landmark. It's designated as such in the county's comprehensive plan.
[20:12] And it has other resources on the property, and so
[20:14] it's closed for resource protection and is not open to
[20:17] the public. Janice, Trace Baker, Postac. Could you give us
[20:21] some examples of what the resources are? That need protection.
[20:26] I'm sorry, I can't. I don't have those with. Me
[20:28] right now. Okay? Thank you. Thank you. And, Janice, before
[20:32] you get off the slide, can you just give us
[20:34] a sense of where the boundary goes on the backside
[20:37] of that property. Yeah. So what you're looking at, this
[20:42] is looking kind of northeast. And if you look at
[20:47] Haystack Mountain, over the hill and down on the other
[20:50] side, Oxford Road runs along there. I don't think you
[20:53] can quite see it in this picture. Oxford Road runs
[20:56] generally east and west, and that Oxford Road is the
[20:59] north edge of the property. Okay, great. Thank you. Yes.
[21:02] And I can also say that this property used to
[21:04] be part of the haystack mountain golf course, which is
[21:07] south of the canal, and some of it you can
[21:08] see in the photo there. Thank you. All right. And
[21:14] then those are the acquisitions that I wanted to highlight.
[21:18] There were more because we did 15 altogether. I gave
[21:21] you a list of those. I know that list is
[21:22] a little bit. Dense. But hopefully you could expand it
[21:28] on your computers and read it. Feel free to ask
[21:31] me questions. About it if you would like, but I'd
[21:33] like to highlight another section on that list. Are the
[21:35] dispositions that we do. And as you know, a lot
[21:37] of times we have to respond to a taking from
[21:40] a condemning authority. But we also do dispositions when it
[21:44] makes sense for open space purposes, and I wanted to
[21:46] highlight this one, which is an amended easement we did
[21:49] with Broomfield for the Lakelink. Trail that runs through part
[21:53] of Ruth Roberts park. And there was erosion happening in
[21:56] the drainage. You can see here, and they needed a
[21:58] little more area to control the erosion. And the prior
[22:02] easement that they had for the trail was just a
[22:04] 30 foot wide street. Width and they needed more of
[22:07] a polygon in this area. So we were able to
[22:10] amend that easement, and then now they can do the
[22:13] erosion control. That they need to do into the future.
[22:16] And then another major area of our work is working
[22:20] on oil and gas activity that happens on open space.
[22:25] And I know that you understand this, but some members
[22:28] of the public may not, so I'm going to explain
[22:29] that this activity is occurring on open space because these
[22:32] leases were typically in place. They were in place, typically
[22:36] decades before the county acquired the properties. Most of the
[22:39] leases started back in nineteen seventy eight, seventy nine, eighty,
[22:42] eighty one in that time frame. And our staff lead
[22:46] our department in the real estate division, lead our department's
[22:48] oil and gas team, which includes a plant ecologist, a
[22:51] wildlife biologist and someone from the ag resources division. And
[22:55] then, when needed, somebody from the trails crew and trails
[22:58] groups to evaluate the operator's needs. And right now, really
[23:03] what's happening is they just are coming onto. These well,
[23:05] pads insights to do maintenance. And there were 14 groups
[23:10] of maintenance projects this year that involved work on 258
[23:16] different wells, some of that number. That 258 is multiple
[23:20] times coming back because they would do different kinds of
[23:22] maintenance. On each property, each wellhead. And then pad site.
[23:29] Also, that also involves work on non county open space.
[23:33] Because our department is the one that has the expertise
[23:36] on how to minimize the impacts to the land and
[23:38] how to reclaim and restore things. And so. Our oil
[23:41] and gas team serves as the county's resource experts for
[23:45] that work. Altogether, we're able to minimize the impacts and
[23:49] reclaim things and help landowners who have wells. On their
[23:53] private land. And then the last major group of our
[24:00] work that we do is our conservation easement program. And
[24:02] they again monitored 450 easements. That's typically about how many
[24:06] they can do every year, which is a little over
[24:09] 50% of our 848 easements that we have that require
[24:13] monitoring. There are some other interests in our program that
[24:17] we manage, like deed restrictions or restrictive covenant. They're not
[24:21] technically conservation easements, but they're part of what we manage
[24:23] to make. Sure the landowners are abiding by the restrictions
[24:26] on their property, and then the county also has granted
[24:30] conservation easements out to our partners on open space properties,
[24:35] and there are. 154 of those. So all told, our
[24:39] program. Manages about 1046 conservation easement. And similar types of
[24:45] interest. Nice. Christine, you have a question? Christine Johnson Posak
[24:49] I really appreciated the document that you gave us ahead
[24:53] of time that came. With the agenda, and I found
[24:58] this part of it to be really eye opening. I
[25:01] don't. Think I had understood the degree to which you
[25:04] are involved with this, and I was curious. What does
[25:07] it look like? When you are doing monitoring. What? Does
[25:12] the monitoring visit entail? I assume you're going to a
[25:15] property and looking for. Something. Sure, I'll be happy to
[25:18] describe that. And before I get into that, I can
[25:21] also share that for context. This represents about 40,000 acres
[25:26] of our 107,000 acre holdings, so it's. Significant. They're private
[25:30] properties. But the landowners who are there now, or their
[25:33] prior landowners, restricted their uses, so. They vary, and some
[25:38] of these are about 300 of them that were done
[25:40] through land use processes. And then quite a few that
[25:43] were done through our own acquisitions and donations and things
[25:46] like that. So each easement is different, but they all
[25:49] do some sort of development restriction, and then they also
[25:52] do some sort. Of natural resource or other type of
[25:56] protection. So we have to look at each one, and
[25:59] what we do is we have a rotational scheme. Set
[26:02] up so that. If you're headed out to monitor for
[26:05] the day, you have a group of eight to ten,
[26:08] maybe twelve or 15 at the most. Easements to monitor
[26:11] it depends on the size of them and where you
[26:13] are in the county, you can monitor quite a few
[26:16] ones on the planes. In a day. Whereas up in
[26:18] the mountains you might be just monitoring one property. And
[26:22] we send notices out to the landowner to say that
[26:25] we are, and we usually do that. Early in the
[26:27] year, and we say you're on the schedule for monitoring
[26:29] this year. We plan to come out and do a
[26:32] monitoring visit. Would you please let your tenants know if
[26:34] you have tenants. And if you would like to be
[26:37] there when we come, give us a call. We're happy
[26:40] to arrange a visit while you're there, but. The county
[26:42] does have the right to go out, and we literally
[26:45] can't arrange 450 visits. So we set it up that
[26:49] way to just say, tell us if you need to
[26:52] be there. And if you want to be there. It
[26:54] also gives them an opportunity. If they have questions for
[26:56] us, sometimes they can call and talk. To us ahead
[26:58] of time or afterwards or whatever. And then we go
[27:02] out and we have a buddy system so that nobody's
[27:05] going by. Themselves in the mountains because we want to
[27:07] be safe and make sure everybody, if you're climbing over
[27:11] logs and things. You don't want to have a medical
[27:14] issue if you break. Your leg or something and be
[27:16] by yourself. So we have protocols for how we do
[27:18] the site. Visits, but then we go in a count.
[27:21] County vehicle. You can see the equipment in the picture
[27:24] here. That is just basically a backpack with a GPS.
[27:28] Some information about the conservation easement, and they've got a
[27:32] sense of the property boundaries. And they're going out to
[27:35] look for changes, primarily. We typically have these properties well
[27:40] documented, with photographs and aerials as well. So we know
[27:45] what's out there to start with. Most of the properties
[27:47] have baseline reports. The ones that got assigned to our
[27:52] department. Just going way back when I started. On June
[27:56] 1, 2005. So I'm coming up on my 20th anniversary.
[27:59] I was tasked with starting our program. And we had
[28:03] about 550 easements. And after we got that going for
[28:06] about a year, the commissioners said, why don't you monitor
[28:09] and manage all of the land use process easements? As
[28:12] well. And those came to us with no baselines, but
[28:16] we did have baseline data, so. We did have title
[28:19] work, we had assessor data. We had all kinds of
[28:22] things from the. Land use record, but not an official
[28:24] baseline report. But we do use that baseline report that
[28:27] talks. About uses and what's allowed and intentions, and you
[28:31] look at the conservation easement document. As well as past
[28:35] photographs. And so you compare all of that to what
[28:38] you're seeing. Today to see if there are changes and
[28:41] if those changes are allowed by the terms of the
[28:44] conservation easement, and then if they're not, then there are
[28:46] a lot of follow up. Conversations. And various resolutions to
[28:51] issues that they might find. And the program uses volunteers
[28:55] as well, of which trace is a longtime volunteer. Paula
[28:59] has volunteered. I volunteered for a couple of seasons already,
[29:02] which we very much appreciate. It's such an amazing program,
[29:06] and it's such a great opportunity to volunteer. Tracy, did
[29:09] you want to add anything to it? Do you have
[29:11] trace Baker Postac? And at least as volunteers. We're given
[29:18] a geo referenced map on our phone. And so that
[29:23] will allow us to respect the boundaries. And then there
[29:28] is a protocol that we follow where. We will. Make
[29:33] either photographs of changes that we observe. Or reference photographs.
[29:40] And. Those are geolocated on the map so you can
[29:46] get a precise idea of where the photograph was made.
[29:50] And. Some of the. Places are very rugged. A lot
[29:58] of them are old mining claims. But there's steep terrain,
[30:04] lots of bear droppings out there. So it's a fun
[30:09] program. Questions, Janet. Just a quick question for clarification. So
[30:18] when you say photograph changes or document changes, Do you
[30:23] mean changes that the owner might have made, or does
[30:26] that include natural kind of changes? To. Well, we do
[30:30] see all of them, but the ones that are of
[30:31] concern are the ones the owner made. Okay, that's what
[30:34] I thought. If the flood comes through and damages the
[30:39] property, we can't and don't make the landowner put things
[30:41] back because that's just too expensive to do. But we
[30:44] do want to make sure that they're staying within their
[30:46] building envelopes for allowed buildings. They're not getting too close
[30:50] to riparion areas, or they're supposed to not have buildings.
[30:52] And that sort of thing. Yeah, but these document things
[30:55] like a flood that. Would come through. Okay, we do.
[31:00] Other questions. Great general firely. What percentage of problems do
[31:08] you find? Is it, like, virtually none, or is it.
[31:12] It's. Virtually none. Now. It's not very many. When I
[31:15] first started, it was a lot because people were asking
[31:18] me. Well, who are you? What are you doing here?
[31:22] What are you doing here and why? I don't have
[31:24] a. Conservation easement, that sort of thing, because the county
[31:27] had not had a monitoring program before. But now, because
[31:31] we're out there almost every other year on each property,
[31:35] People are used to it. They know. What the restrictions
[31:38] are and. It's a very solid relationship, usually with the
[31:42] landowners. So thank you for your interest in that program.
[31:49] And then to end with, I just want to let
[31:50] you know about a couple of staffing. Changes. Don Derso,
[31:54] who has been our person to present all of our
[31:56] condemnations with you. He was in a term position and
[32:00] that term position expired and he was ready to retire.
[32:04] So we don't have his position, and we don't have
[32:06] Don, unfortunately. But he has retired and we wish him
[32:10] well, and we do miss him. We do have a
[32:12] new staff member, though, because Michael Sylvester. Who I don't
[32:17] have in this picture because he hadn't joined us at
[32:18] this. Point, but. He has just joined our team from
[32:22] the county attorney's office and. He is the designee on
[32:26] staff to receive all the oil and gas maintenance requests
[32:28] for the county, and then he coordinates with public health
[32:32] and community planning and permitting and other departments as well.
[32:36] As parks and open space. On those requests. So he's
[32:40] coming onto our team. He's taking over the internal. Team
[32:43] coordination role that we have as well. And then that
[32:46] will allow Megan Green, as one of our real estate
[32:49] specialists who's been doing that to work on some other
[32:51] things. And we're trying to do a little shuffling. To
[32:53] try to fill what Don was doing. So you're going
[32:56] to see more of our other land officers doing the
[32:58] work that Don was doing. But we're very glad that
[33:02] Michael has joined us, and he's going to be. Handling
[33:05] primarily oil and gas activity for us. That's great. That's
[33:09] all I have. Thank you very much. Are there any
[33:13] members of the public here who want to speak on.
[33:18] The topic of the closings. And Nick, do we have
[33:21] anybody online? For those members that are on attending on
[33:26] zoom. If you want to make comments on the current
[33:28] agenda item. Please use the raise hand feature and we
[33:31] can call on you. I am not seeing any raised
[33:35] hands. Great. Thank you. Derek. Did you have any? Yeah,
[33:38] I had. A question, Derek Turner. And I guess I
[33:41] wanted to go back to the very first thing you
[33:43] presented on which is the land commitment, and I thought.
[33:49] It'd be appropriate. If there's anything you could tell us
[33:51] about. Which efforts from this last year to live up
[33:57] to this commitment ways you partnered and worked with indigenous
[34:02] communities. I can do that because this is a real
[34:05] estate division, so I'm going to do that from that
[34:07] perspective, if that's okay. So one of the things I
[34:11] mentioned as I was going through is we're no longer
[34:13] using landowner names for naming properties, and that's something we
[34:16] implemented a couple of years ago. And it's continuing to
[34:20] be a successful way to honor. The land, really, and
[34:25] not necessarily the people who typically, a lot of the
[34:29] landowners. Are members of the white culture. Not all of
[34:32] them are, but a lot of them are. And that's
[34:36] why in this commitment, we talk about the fact we
[34:38] have to use real estate principles and landownership, et cetera.
[34:43] But it's a broader way to acknowledge. What the land
[34:47] brings. And to be more cognizant of the value of
[34:52] that land to the open space. Program. I am also
[34:56] doing that. And every year I've been doing a volunteer
[34:59] naturalist training session. To sort of kick off that training
[35:04] that we do. It's several weeks long, and I bring
[35:07] in the history of the area and how our program
[35:10] got started. And. I have been augmenting what I have
[35:15] been doing in that space for several years now. To
[35:18] try to recognize those who were here before us. And
[35:22] kind of how things have happened. And the fact that,
[35:25] for example, people from the city of Longmont and Boulder
[35:29] county mustard and went to the Sand Creek massacre and
[35:32] participated in it. So bring in all that kind of
[35:35] history, including all the. Western doctrine. Of discovery and expansion
[35:42] and how that all works. So that's something that I've
[35:45] adopted and we've been doing my team. Then, as I
[35:49] mentioned, we've been doing this acknowledgment before every POsAC meeting
[35:53] and every board of commissioner. Hearing on a land acquisition
[35:57] or even a disposition project. So that members of the
[36:00] public know that we care about this, and this is
[36:04] a commitment that we are using because it's short enough
[36:08] to put in a memo doesn't take too long to
[36:10] read, but accomplishes the purpose for what we're doing without
[36:14] taking too much of the public meeting and hearing space,
[36:19] but our department, as. A whole. Has a longer land
[36:23] commitment. That is really about thinking on a daily basis
[36:26] how you can do things differently. So one of the
[36:30] other things that you'll be hearing about is we've been
[36:33] working on. My group's been working on. The flood buyout
[36:36] properties. There were 45 of those that got bought out.
[36:41] With FEMA and HUD funding after the 2013 flood, our
[36:45] department adopted a lot of those into open space, and
[36:47] they were part of our open space program, but some
[36:50] of them. Are just lots in a subdivision. And we
[36:54] don't feel it like Boulder county is. The best owner
[36:57] of those properties, necessarily. And so last May, we advertised
[37:02] 16 of those is being available for new owners. They
[37:06] have to abide by the deed restrictions that require that
[37:09] they be used only for open space purposes, and we've
[37:12] been working since then to develop through both an equity
[37:16] lens in general. And then. Just also trying to make
[37:20] sure we do outreach to cultures who don't necessarily. Find
[37:25] it easy to hear about things that parks and open
[37:28] space is doing to make sure that we had some
[37:29] robust outreach before. As we launch that program. And we
[37:34] had a two month window for application, so we tried
[37:36] to make sure that that outreach was done early, so
[37:41] those are some of the examples. Thanks. I appreciate that.
[37:44] Thank you and great. Presentation and congratulations on a very
[37:48] successful year. Looks like. Well, thank you. And thank you
[37:51] for your support. Your recommendations are really important to the
[37:53] commissioners and. To staff as well. Thank you. Thank you,
[37:56] Janice. Okay. Susan, would you like to come up and
[38:01] talk to us about white notice syndrome?
[38:20] And I was just up at Blue Jay Mines. So
[38:24] it's prime on my mind. Okay.
[38:35] Okay. All right, so I'm Susan Spalding. I'm the environmental
[38:41] senior specialist with Boulder. County open space and also a
[38:45] wildlife biologist. So today I'm going to give an update.
[38:48] On Whiteno syndrome in Boulder county. So I've structured the
[38:52] presentation today to cover Batson. Boulder county what species we
[38:56] have and how. Do we know? Our past and present
[39:01] monitoring efforts in the wildlife program. And with the arrival
[39:04] of Whiteno syndrome, into Boulder County. Our internal management, coordination
[39:09] and response. So if you have questions as I go
[39:12] through the presentation, please. Just go ahead and ask. I
[39:16] also want to mention that we have other staff here
[39:17] today to help answer questions. Such as education, Outreach and
[39:22] our reckon facilities group. Okay. So before we go any
[39:27] further, let's talk about bats. So they are beyond amazing
[39:31] as you guys probably know they have a super long
[39:33] lifespan, which most people are surprised by. They're highly social
[39:41] and they develop long term associations, like friendships with other
[39:44] bats. They've. Been documented visiting neighboring roof sites, and they
[39:49] hang out with a different individual bat and then they
[39:52] go back to their original roof site, and no one
[39:54] really knows why they do this, but. It really seems
[39:56] like they're hanging out and having conversation. So most bats
[39:59] give birth to only one pup per year. And you
[40:02] can see the x ray. Image there. So very slow
[40:07] reproduction, which is why, when their populations are impacted, it
[40:10] takes a very long time. To recover. So worldwide there
[40:14] are 1480 species, so that means they make up 25%
[40:19] of all living. Mammal species. So the only other order
[40:23] that. Has more species is rodents, which make up 45%.
[40:29] So if you're a mammal today, you have a 75.
[40:33] Percent chance of being either a bat or a rodent.
[40:37] Yeah. So bats evolve from shrews, which are not rodents.
[40:41] They are in the order Insectivora. Along with hedgehogs and
[40:46] moles. And truths actually have primitive echolocation capabilities, but nothing
[40:52] compared to like, what bats have. So what is echolocation?
[40:56] So basically, the bats are screaming at the top of
[40:59] their lungs. With their vocal cords. And if we could
[41:03] hear it, it's as loud as a smoke detector. And
[41:06] that's. 120 decibels recorded within six inches of the bat
[41:10] itself, so it's probably pretty loud out there for animals
[41:13] that can hear them. So their eyesight is good to
[41:17] excellent and they don't use it much at night. Due
[41:21] to the darkness, obviously, but they also have some ability
[41:24] to detect color as well. So any bat biologist will
[41:29] tell you that they are amazingly complex on so many
[41:31] levels, and I hadn't even mentioned their physiological capabilities, including
[41:36] how they control their heart rates, how they. Hibernate. Their
[41:39] crazy immune systems. And how they physically catch their food.
[41:45] There are so many things, and, of course, the benefits
[41:47] they provide to humans. And our crop production. They eat
[41:51] a lot of insects and save, or I should say,
[41:54] assist. The farming community, like 23 billion per year. It's
[42:00] pretty incredible. Okay, so bats in Boulder county. So Colorado
[42:07] is home to 20 species of baths, and of these
[42:10] 20 species, 14 are known hibernators, and the other six
[42:14] migrate south for the winter. So not all bats hibernate.
[42:21] That's important information because hibernating bats are the species that
[42:23] are suffering from widenose syndrome. Okay, so now let's zero
[42:27] in on Boulder county bats of the 20. Species in
[42:30] Colorado. There are twelve species in Boulder county. And later
[42:34] on I'm going to show you a list of the
[42:36] species we actually have. Okay, so how do we know
[42:40] what bats are in Boulder county and on open space
[42:42] specifically? First? Off. We've been very fortunate that through our
[42:46] small grants program and our non funded research, program. Dr.
[42:49] Rick Adams from the University of Northern Colorado has been
[42:53] serving and tracking bats on open space for about 20
[42:56] years. He's a globally renowned researcher, and we're lucky to
[43:01] have him locally. He's basically. His research is how we
[43:05] know. Who's on our properties, and that helps us make
[43:10] management recommendations. So over the years, Rick has conducted misnating
[43:14] and telemetry work. Also egress surveys from historic structures. He's
[43:19] looked at that responses to different forestry management techniques and
[43:22] also fire response. He's kept track of elevation, migratory movements
[43:27] using. Acoustic monitoring techniques. Say these acoustic monitors record back
[43:32] calls, and then you can analyze them using software to
[43:34] determine species. He's also come to open space several times
[43:38] to talk to our department about bats in general, so
[43:40] that we all understand. Altogether. He's an amazing bat ambassador.
[43:48] I just want to mention here, too, that our wildlife
[43:50] open space program has purchased acoustic monitors in the last
[43:53] couple of years. So now we have ten and we're
[43:55] pretty excited because we're going to repeat what Rick has
[43:57] done over these 20 years to continue that data through
[44:01] the years. Okay, so let's look at threats to bats
[44:04] in Colorado overall. So energy development is like wind
[44:14] turbines, extermination and eviction, as people typically in their homes.
[44:19] Or elsewhere. There's rangeline management, which basically refers to riparian
[44:24] corridor management because bats need streamside vegetation for insects and
[44:29] other things. Pesticides. Forest fires and forest management that impacts
[44:35] the habitat directly. Recreation is basically human disturbance, climate change,
[44:41] which means less water on the landscape and habitat alterations.
[44:46] And disease, including Lygno syndrome. So I just want to
[44:50] mention here that the Colorado bat working group has threats.
[44:54] Matrix that's. Pertinent to each bat species in Colorado, and
[44:58] it kind of goes through all the threats that are
[45:00] listed here and how they impact individual species. So, for
[45:05] example, direct impacts. Of wind turbine engines. They pose an
[45:11] immediate threat to migratory bat species like Hori bats and
[45:14] silverhead bats. These guys are migratory, like I said. And.
[45:20] It's been discovered that it's not the blades that actually
[45:22] hit the bats, it's the change in air pressure and
[45:25] that changing air pressure. Basically explodes their lungs. So that's
[45:31] tough. It kills up to 150,000 hori bats, for instance,
[45:34] every year. Actually, Susan, is that nationally? Nationally, yeah. Horrible.
[45:39] Distributed across the nation. 1 second Jackson Molar Post I've
[45:46] been doing a lot of work with compensatory mitigation with
[45:50] energy. Have you had any success or explored. Compensation from
[45:55] wind turbines and other energy? That's an excellent question. I
[45:58] don't know. Yeah, I can follow up. Okay. So anyway,
[46:03] I just wanted to mention all these threats, kind of.
[46:05] Layered up in white nose syndrome is another one of
[46:07] those threats. Yeah. Susan jan. George posack. As far as
[46:12] recreation, can you give us an example of what kind
[46:15] of recreation is a threat? To bats. Yes, I mentioned
[46:19] liberian corridors and how important they are for bats. Let's
[46:23] just talk about the tricolored bat. Those guys have their
[46:26] pups and trees in Riperian. Corridors. And so, during the
[46:30] puppering season, when. The young are not. They can't fly
[46:34] yet, so they're just hanging out in the trees. If
[46:37] people are underneath the trees. You can't see that they're
[46:40] there. You don't know they're. Very cryptic, and you might
[46:43] be making noise or the dogs barking or something, and
[46:46] those bats might. Get scared and fall out of the
[46:48] tree. So that's an example of how humans can affect
[46:51] bats with recreation. Okay. All right, so let's talk about
[47:00] white nose syndrome. It's a new species that was discovered
[47:06] after it arrived here in the US. It is called
[47:09] pseudo chimneys destructins, or PD for short, and it was
[47:14] unknown to science. Before it arrived in the US, but
[47:17] it did come. From Europe and Asia. So PD reproduces
[47:22] using sexually created spores, as you would expect from a
[47:25] fungus. They also send out reproductive vessels, non sexually called
[47:30] arthrokinidia. So fungus is a very interesting organism, right? But
[47:38] in any case, both of these vessels are long lived
[47:40] in the environment, and they can be easily spread. They're
[47:43] tiny by air currents, humans, water and other animals. We
[47:49] do know that the fungus stops growing above 68 degrees
[47:53] and it doesn't like it. Cooler than 40 degrees, which
[47:56] is kind of exactly what the fat's like. So no
[47:59] other animals, including humans, are known to have gotten white.
[48:01] No syndrome other than bats. So what's interesting is PD
[48:06] does not need a bat to grow. They're in. The
[48:08] cave environment. It's in the cave environment, and it just
[48:11] takes advantage of the bat. Being there. It's kind of
[48:14] a devastating coincidence, really. So incective, bats experience the fungus
[48:20] growing into their cellular structure. Including their circulatory system and
[48:24] their skin, and it's very painful, and it wakes the
[48:27] bats up. And if they're in hibernation when they wake
[48:30] up. They're depleting their critical fat reserves. This can lead
[48:35] to starvation. Before it gets to be spring, they leave
[48:38] the cave and find food. But if it's the dead
[48:41] of winter, they leave the cave, they freeze, or they
[48:43] can't find food and. They starve. Okay, so here's a
[48:48] big old slide. So we have 47 species of bats
[48:52] in the US and Canada. So those half are susceptible
[49:00] to white no syndrome because they hibernate in caves as
[49:02] part of their life cycle. Again. Remember, not all bad's
[49:06] hypernate. Some are migratory, similar to birds. So twelve of
[49:10] these 47 species have experienced 95% to 100% declines. And
[49:17] of these twelve, six are in Boulder county, where white
[49:20] no syndrome is just showing up. So. Again, we have
[49:23] 20 species in Colorado, and of those, twelve are in
[49:26] Boulder county. And of those twelve. Six are known to
[49:29] be impacted by Whiteno syndrome. So half the species in
[49:34] Boulder county are in immediate danger of flight no syndrome.
[49:37] Susan Paula Fitzgerald. So we know six species are affected.
[49:45] Are the other species? Potentially going to. Is it just
[49:49] a matter of time? Or do they have some sort
[49:53] of resistance? So if you look at the species listed
[49:57] there, The top species are known to die from white
[50:02] nose syndrome. Like, they get it, it grows on their
[50:05] fur, they die. The second list there. Is. The fungus
[50:10] is on them. It's been confirmed to be on the
[50:12] bat, but it. Doesn't seem to. Grow and cause them
[50:17] harm. So those bats, whatever sort of bacterial or fungal.
[50:25] Communities on their fur and skin. Somehow PD doesn't get
[50:29] a hold. And some bets we don't know yet. You
[50:32] can see here, like the California Myodus. Which is not
[50:35] in Boulder county, but it's in Colorado. It probably is
[50:39] going to be affected, but it hasn't been yet, so
[50:41] it's unknown. Yeah. And it's interesting because that second. List.
[50:48] Say, like, the townsend's bigger that. They might. Well, this
[50:53] does happen in our historic structures where we have other
[50:55] bats and I'll. Talk about that in a minute, but
[50:57] they might go and hang out with another species of
[51:01] bat that is susceptible. They've got it on there fur.
[51:04] They leave it on the wall. Or they touch noses
[51:07] or whatever so they can actually spread it back to
[51:09] bat. So, yeah, the good question. Okay. Now let's go
[51:17] back to how devastating this disease is. Again, it's killed
[51:19] over. 90% of northern long eared, little brown and tricolored
[51:24] bat populations in the eastern US in fewer than ten
[51:28] years. So again, we can see what could happen. Do
[51:33] you guys have any more questions about that? Okay. So
[51:39] let's talk about the timeline of when widenose syndrome came
[51:42] to Colorado in February. Of 2024. There was a little
[51:49] brown bat. That's a type of bat. It was turned
[51:53] in by a rehabber and it tested. Positive for white
[51:56] nose syndrome. And then from March through the end of
[52:00] June 2024, an additional 58 bats of eight species. Were
[52:05] submitted to the CPW health lab via rehabbers and the
[52:08] public. So we started noticing dead bats on the ground,
[52:12] and people were telling CPW about it, and. Turning them
[52:15] in. So of those, an additional 32 bats tested positive
[52:19] for white nose syndrome. Including fringed myodus, which I'll talk
[52:24] about in a second. And one big brown bat. So
[52:28] I should mention that at least two of these baths
[52:30] were rehabbed and released so that's kind of a bright
[52:32] spot. If you can get them early enough, they can
[52:35] be saved. And there are signs of slow recovery in
[52:39] some parts of the Midwest. Suggesting that some bats may
[52:43] be developing natural immunity, but again, that they're slow reproduction
[52:48] and all the other challenges. We're just crossing our fingers.
[52:52] Susan polyfits Gerald again. So question. I had a bat
[52:56] in my backyard last year. Middle of the day, down
[52:59] on the ground called animal control. Became quite responsibly, but
[53:05] wondering. Are animal control trained in white bat syndrome to
[53:11] test for that so that you guys can keep a
[53:13] handle on that, as well as rabies and some of
[53:16] the more things we think of. More commonly, yeah. So
[53:19] depending on the time of year that that bat was
[53:21] found, was it summer? Was it summer? Yeah. They may
[53:25] not have turned it into CPW. Huff lab because of
[53:28] the time of year. Like if you find bats early
[53:32] spring or winter, that's when they're leaving hibernation areas because.
[53:37] They're itchy and running out of food storage, fat storage.
[53:40] So they leave their hibernation. Sites. So that's when animal
[53:45] control would probably turn it into CPW. The health lab,
[53:49] so they're kind of trained in. Oh, definitely. Yeah, they're
[53:53] coordinated. Susan trace Baker, Postac. You said that bats have
[53:59] been. Successfully rehabilitated. What is the treatment? That's my next
[54:06] slide. Okay. So. This map is updated. This is from
[54:14] the whiteness syndrome.org website. And it's updated all the time.
[54:21] And I just wanted to show you because it shows
[54:22] how Colorado. Now has white nose syndrome, and you can
[54:26] see that the colors denote whether whiteness syndrome has actually
[54:30] been detected on a bat or if its PD has
[54:33] been detected, but no white nut syndrome. On a bat.
[54:37] Has been confirmed yet, so I wanted to show you
[54:40] that. And then zooming in on Colorado. These are the
[54:44] counties. And their status currently. So right now, Route, Laramer,
[54:51] Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Ataro, Otero, Bacca counties have confirmed
[54:57] PD in the past two years. And again, the dots
[55:00] show PD positive, but no white, no. Syndrome has been
[55:03] detected yet. Okay, so treatments. What can we do?
[55:13] There's no silver bullet, which is what researchers are figuring
[55:16] out. It's got to be many different things layered up.
[55:21] So here's some things that have been researched. By folks
[55:25] to see how effective they are. So again, they have
[55:29] to be effective safe for bats and other animals and
[55:31] also the environment. So that's another consideration, but biological? Techniques,
[55:39] they can stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms that either
[55:42] attack or secrete substances that attack PD. Or compete with
[55:47] PD in other ways. Probiotics, they can apply a probiotic
[55:52] mix of bacteria and fungi naturally found on bat wings
[55:56] to kill or weaken. PD Kaidovan is a naturally derived
[56:00] antifungal agent. With wound healing and antiinflammatory properties. It decreases
[56:06] infection rates and limits tissue damages. Then bacteria. You can
[56:11] apply strains of bacteria that have antifungal activity properties. UV
[56:16] light. You can kill the spores with uv light. Of
[56:21] certain wavelengths. Just a note on that. This is an
[56:25] example of if you put a uv light in a
[56:28] cave. What else were you killing with that light? So
[56:30] again, this applies to all these. And then a vaccine,
[56:35] which is being developed now. Delivers a protective. Immune response.
[56:41] And I'm going to play this little clip here. I
[56:43] hope it works. This is a little brown bat getting
[56:48] a very big dose of vaccine. And this was in
[56:51] July. Of 2024. And this is CPW at work. I'm
[56:57] going to play it again. Yeah, he's just like. I
[57:07] mean, that's a huge pipette for him, but that's the
[57:09] amount they need to give him. And I'm going to
[57:12] talk more about that vaccine trial. Whatever the vehicle is,
[57:16] it must be very tasty. Yeah, actually, I didn't ask.
[57:19] I don't know. I'm playing it again. One more time.
[57:28] Okay. He kind of has to take it. Okay.
[57:40] All right, so just a bit more on CPW's current
[57:42] vaccination effort. So this happened up in Larmer county in
[57:49] 2024. 200 bats were captured at a site that's known
[57:53] to have. These are little brown bats. And there's a
[57:55] huge colony up there. 200 bats were captured and 100
[57:58] were given either a vaccine or a placebo. All the
[58:02] bats received wing bands. All were pit tagged for mark
[58:06] recapture. Studies this year that are going to happen. The
[58:11] effort is being done in other states as well, using.
[58:15] Similar methodology, including Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
[58:20] So that's a really good coordinated effort. So, again, giving
[58:25] these vaccines to the bats, you have to do it
[58:27] by hand, but they're. Thinking of other ways to distribute
[58:30] the vaccine, such as an aerial spray or they've talked
[58:34] about maybe. Smearing it on the wall of the cave
[58:39] and the bats land on it and then lick. It
[58:40] off their fur, so there's some ideas being bantered about.
[58:45] So of interest. The vaccine uses a modified raccoon pox
[58:48] virus to deliver the fungal. Antigens. And this is the
[58:54] same process that's been used for plague vaccine for blackfooted.
[58:58] Ferrets and prairie dogs. And we at open space have
[59:01] been using that vaccine since 2016. On our prairie dogs.
[59:07] And that's been successful. So crossing fingers for the bats.
[59:12] Okay, so current internal management practices. At BCPos. So what
[59:19] are we doing at open space? Both in response to
[59:21] whiteness. Syndrome, but also for bats in general. So these
[59:25] two structures that are shown on this slide. Have multiple
[59:29] species maternity colonies inside them. That's why I put them
[59:33] on the slide. So the top one is called the
[59:36] Rocky Mountain mammoth, and the one on the bottom is
[59:39] a. Barn structure at Myers Gulch, which seems to be
[59:42] a summer roost for bats. So for many years, we've
[59:48] been focused on what we can do to basically make
[59:50] bats. Lives easier knowing that they are threatened by many
[59:53] different things. And now, especially in light of white no
[59:58] syndrome. So climate change, as we talked about, is one
[1:00:02] threat to bats. And one aspect of this is less
[1:00:04] water on the landscape. So Rick Adams bringing him, and
[1:00:09] again, he's done a lot of research at Highlevelley. Ranch
[1:00:12] in gear canyon, specifically. And one of his studies telematured.
[1:00:16] He misnetted and then telemetured. Different species and found that
[1:00:20] there's a fringed meiotis maternity colony up in these palisades
[1:00:24] up in Gear Canyon. And so we have three different
[1:00:27] species of maternity. Colonies in this palisade, which is a
[1:00:30] rock facing slope. Sorry. A rock palisade. And so what
[1:00:39] we found is that. With less water on the landscape.
[1:00:44] We decided to try this, and this is a linear
[1:00:46] water feature. For the bats to water from, because when
[1:00:50] you have a maternity colony, those female mother bats, they're
[1:00:53] nursing their pups all day long, and so when they
[1:00:56] emerge at night, they're basically little raisins. They are just
[1:01:00] dry. Right. And so they need to find water immediately.
[1:01:03] And so to make it easier and to keep it
[1:01:05] available longer into the summer. This is the idea with
[1:01:08] this linear feature. We're calling it a bat trough. And
[1:01:11] we used youth core to build it, and they loved
[1:01:13] it, and we taught them about bats. And it's fed
[1:01:16] by gear creek like I said so the water percolates
[1:01:18] back into. Gear Creek, but it does get held for
[1:01:21] a little bit longer, and it doesn't have the vegetation
[1:01:24] in the way of the bats. So right after we
[1:01:27] built that, We asked Rick to put up an acoustic
[1:01:30] monitor. So that's when an acoustic monitor looks. Like. And
[1:01:34] those fringe meiotis. The maternity colony that I was talking
[1:01:36] about. Those guys that's. The big graph there, so they
[1:01:40] used it immediately, and. Often. So basically, they could come
[1:01:44] right out of their roost and go straight to this
[1:01:47] water. So we only know of two friends of Myodius
[1:01:51] maternity colonies. In Boulder county, they don't use historic structures,
[1:01:56] they use rock faces. So it's really hard to find
[1:01:59] them. So when we do find them, we treat them
[1:02:01] very carefully. For instance, we had a forestry project that
[1:02:05] was going on in Deer Canyon. And we buffered the
[1:02:10] maternity colony by a lot so that they would still
[1:02:13] have their forging habitat intact right outside their roost. Okay.
[1:02:19] We're going to continuously monitor this area. Okay, so another
[1:02:23] thing we've been doing for many years is the installation
[1:02:25] of specialized escape. Ramps in stock tanks. And in spring
[1:02:33] development. So bats use stock tanks for water, and they
[1:02:37] often get stuck as we know, sometimes lots of animals
[1:02:40] get stuck in stock tanks, so these escape ramps help
[1:02:43] the animals swim. Around the edge, and then they find
[1:02:46] it and they crawl out. So currently we have 30
[1:02:49] fabricated. Metal escape ramps and then five constructed rock ramps.
[1:02:58] Another thing I want to mention on this slide is
[1:02:59] that our tenants all received so our agricultural tenants all
[1:03:03] received a letter back in mid 2024 from uS outlining
[1:03:08] the arrival of Whiteno syndrome. What it is, what it
[1:03:11] means, what to do if you find a dead bat,
[1:03:12] because. They have a lot of barn structures and things
[1:03:14] on our agricultural properties. And that letter went out to
[1:03:18] all of our 60 tenants. Okay, so another big part
[1:03:21] of our program is managing historic structures that house bats.
[1:03:26] So this is the blue jay mine up near Jamestown.
[1:03:28] It houses a maternity colony of bats, but also was
[1:03:30] receiving a lot of public access that was kind of
[1:03:33] unmanaged. They were lighting fires in the structure and. Doing
[1:03:40] other dangerous things. So we all work together in the
[1:03:44] department and our grands crew formalized the site with the
[1:03:48] fencing you see there that was put up. And eno.
[1:03:54] Created an installed interpretive signage to tell the public what
[1:03:57] the property is, and it also mentions the bats and
[1:04:02] our buildings and historic preservation closed that hoist house entrance.
[1:04:07] And then the wildlife group, we created that signage. So
[1:04:12] we close those windows so that the bats could still
[1:04:15] come in and out, and then we interpreted it for
[1:04:17] the public to hopefully understand that there are bats in
[1:04:19] there. So moving forward with this site in relation to
[1:04:22] Whitenose syndrome. We're investigating the collection of guano. Samples, which
[1:04:26] can tell you if you have the fungus, because the
[1:04:30] fungus survives through the digestive. System. Yeah. I just want
[1:04:38] to mention, too, that anytime. We enter these structures for
[1:04:42] any reason, we'll try to do it after the puppearing.
[1:04:45] Season. But also we have a decontamination protocol. That we
[1:04:49] are working on now across the department. It's basically 70%
[1:04:53] isopropyl alcohol solution that you spray. Okay. And is that
[1:05:01] decontamination for the people working on it, or is this
[1:05:04] for other bats. Oh, that's for the people. Okay. Yeah,
[1:05:08] if we could decontaminate the bats. Okay, so this is
[1:05:12] the cardinal mill, and you guys have a lot of.
[1:05:14] You have been up. There. It hosts several species of
[1:05:16] maternity colonies. It's pretty big time for bats. So what?
[1:05:20] We've done for many years is conduct public tours. We
[1:05:23] do it later in the season. After the puffering seasonist
[1:05:26] pup ring is mostly done. We've also conducted egress surveys
[1:05:31] to determine how late in the season the bats are
[1:05:33] still there. So we've also done thermal imaging surveys. You
[1:05:39] can see in one of the photos are the little
[1:05:41] slats on the ceiling are really hard to see the
[1:05:43] bats in there. They tuck themselves into these lofts and
[1:05:47] so with thermal. Imaging we can get a better sense
[1:05:49] of where they are. So that was helpful, and we
[1:05:53] did that through. A contractor. But we also have started
[1:05:59] to conduct maintenance outside the puppering season. So anything buildings
[1:06:03] and historic preservation. Do they typically wait until the end
[1:06:06] of the season? As far as possible. So the species
[1:06:09] in the cardinal mill, we've got long legged myodus, which
[1:06:13] is. Not typically found in human built structures and. They're
[1:06:19] also really highly disturbed by a human presence. That particular
[1:06:22] species we have little brown bats. And again, those guys
[1:06:25] have lost 95% of their population in the eastern United
[1:06:28] States because of white no syndrome, and they are petitioned
[1:06:31] for listing right now. Federally. We also have small footed
[1:06:35] myodus, which is third most rare species. In Boulder county
[1:06:39] by numbers. And right now, it's not clear that that
[1:06:42] species are going to be impacted by whiteness syndrome. So
[1:06:45] people are kind of waiting. They are western species, so
[1:06:47] we're not sure. Yet. And then big brown bats are
[1:06:50] also in this structure. So, moving forward, in response to
[1:06:54] whitenose, syndrome. We're discussing this year's public access and whether
[1:06:57] to wait a year. Or to not visit the structure,
[1:07:00] or if we do, wait until mid September after the
[1:07:02] young have dispersed. And if we do this, we will
[1:07:05] require decontamination of all visitors and staff. And then. We'll
[1:07:12] continue to monitor doing egress surveys and acoustic monitoring at
[1:07:15] this site and that first picture with the circled areas
[1:07:19] on the cardinal, that's the egress sites. Where they're all
[1:07:22] coming out at night. So we've identified those important exit
[1:07:26] areas. Susan paula fitzgerald again. Has it been found that
[1:07:31] white nose syndrome transfers from bats to people? No, it
[1:07:35] doesn't. No. Doesn't affect humans. Okay, so back to the
[1:07:42] Rocky Mountain mammoth. This is another historic structure with several
[1:07:45] species using for maternity colonies. It's also used as a
[1:07:51] migratory roof site for species such as townspoons bigard bats.
[1:07:56] This is of interest to me because my family owned
[1:07:58] this property for about 100 years. So we started conducting
[1:08:02] bat surveys around 2006, which was before the county owned
[1:08:06] it. In 2009, the county purchased this site. Its historical
[1:08:11] significance. And it's now in the National Historic Register, thanks
[1:08:16] to the county. It's the most well maintained. Preserved shaft
[1:08:24] house in all of Boulder county. Like it didn't get
[1:08:27] picked apart for Barnwood. Somehow because our family was there.
[1:08:31] So anyway, for Whitenose syndrome again, this structure. Is intermittently
[1:08:37] visited for Hard Rock mining tour and we're going to
[1:08:41] wait. We already have been waiting until later in the
[1:08:44] season to do those, but this is again, more discussions
[1:08:47] amongst our group as Whitenous syndrome is here. Are we
[1:08:50] going to visit it this year? If we do are
[1:08:53] we going to decontaminate and when are we going to
[1:08:55] visit? Janet, you have a question? Yeah. Janet George Posack.
[1:09:03] So when you're talking about Ruse and this building and
[1:09:06] the one before. How many individuals are we talking about?
[1:09:10] Adults. Stick with that hundreds. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Interesting. Yeah.
[1:09:18] And actually, on that note, the CPW vaccine. It may
[1:09:22] be unrelated to Janice, but this picture on the left,
[1:09:26] what are we looking at there? Is there a bad
[1:09:28] hiding in there that I should be looking for? Well,
[1:09:30] there is a bat. There, but you can't see him.
[1:09:33] Yeah, that shows they tuck themselves up into those little.
[1:09:36] Crevices. You don't see it. I see a bunch. But
[1:09:43] you can hear them. It's pretty interesting when you sneak
[1:09:46] around outside of this structure. In the middle of the
[1:09:48] summer. You can hear the young talking to their moms.
[1:09:51] It's. Just squeaky, squeaky, squeaky. There's a lot of them.
[1:09:55] Yeah. Susan pulls or Janet George again, Postac. So if
[1:10:00] there's hundreds of bats in a couple of these places,
[1:10:02] is there some monitoring? You can do to detect any
[1:10:05] changes in population numbers. That's a great question. We can
[1:10:10] monitor using those acoustic monitors. We can do passes per
[1:10:14] night. So relative activity of a site and then we
[1:10:18] can identify to species, so it's. Kind of the activity
[1:10:21] in general, we can monitor. We can't count the bats,
[1:10:25] necessarily. With that process, but we can get a general
[1:10:30] sense. So with acoustic monitor. What percentage of the population
[1:10:36] decline or increase would you need to actually detect it?
[1:10:39] Are we talking 30%, 50%. But I'm just wondering. Say
[1:10:48] you record 100,000 calls, right? And then. Say half of
[1:10:55] those are analyzable due to the quality of the recording.
[1:11:01] That's pretty consistent. Across. All the software analysis. So what
[1:11:09] am I trying to tell you? Not all car calls
[1:11:13] are identifiable. Identifiable? But it's pretty consistent which ones are.
[1:11:22] What percentage of the calls are from each individual species,
[1:11:25] so I think you could detect even up to a
[1:11:28] 10% decline because we have the baseline data already. We've
[1:11:32] done acoustic monitoring. There already. So. Yeah, I hope that
[1:11:36] helps. Yeah. Thanks. That's really good. And a wild population
[1:11:40] to be able to detect that small of a change.
[1:11:42] Yeah, so good job. Okay. Thanks. Yeah. Okay. Well, I
[1:11:47] wanted to say, in addition, that we've been poking at
[1:11:50] CPW to be part of their vaccine trial. This could
[1:11:53] be a spot for that. And so could the cardinal
[1:11:55] because it's easily accessible by the researchers. There's a lot
[1:11:58] of bat. Bats. So we'll see. I don't know. Crossing
[1:12:02] our fingers again. Okay. All right, so this is our
[1:12:09] internal team. We have our white nose syndrome response team,
[1:12:15] and basically we've convened all workgroups. That might interface with
[1:12:18] bats or bad habitat. We've started by discussing. What we
[1:12:24] already do for bats within each workgroup and what Whitenose
[1:12:27] syndrome will mean. For our future management actions. We also
[1:12:31] have CPW come and give us an overview on Wyno
[1:12:34] syndrome altogether so that we understand it and ask questions
[1:12:37] as a group. So again, the department understands the importance
[1:12:41] of bats and this severe threat and our overarching goal
[1:12:44] is to again make their lives easier while Whiteno syndrome
[1:12:47] arrives and probably is going to wreak havoc. We're also
[1:12:51] coordinating with the city of Longmont, City, Boulder, OSFP on
[1:12:55] their strategies. Too, to kind of inform and learn from
[1:12:57] each other. So we're hoping to not assist the spread
[1:13:01] of spores by again using those decontamination. Protocols. And we're
[1:13:07] also committed to limiting disturbance, especially in these first few
[1:13:11] years. Of it's here now. We're also going to be
[1:13:16] on the lookout for dead bats very soon, because, again,
[1:13:18] this is the time of year that they might start
[1:13:20] showing up. And we're developing an eternal response team to
[1:13:25] collect any dead bats and get them out. To the
[1:13:27] CPW Health lab. Susan tony lewis with postac I'm curious
[1:13:32] if this came from. Europe and asia. How long has
[1:13:37] it been there and what treatments have they figured out?
[1:13:41] What have we learned from her continents across the sea.
[1:13:46] Yeah, the bats there are immune to it. They're not
[1:13:49] really. Impacted, really. They've probably coevolved with it for thousands
[1:13:54] and thousands of years, so. It's there. It's there? Yeah,
[1:13:57] it's part of the system. It hadn't been identified. Because
[1:14:00] it's just a fungus among lots of fungus. But when
[1:14:04] it came here, it had no competition. No resistance, right?
[1:14:17] Like a wall joke. So public involvement. So at this
[1:14:22] time of year, again, this is when we might start
[1:14:24] seeing dead bats. And as they arouse early from hibernation
[1:14:29] through the infection. So CPW has a bat hotline to
[1:14:32] report dead bats, where you can send an email with
[1:14:35] any sort of questions or concerns. And again, the color
[1:14:40] of that working group has a conservation plan, which is
[1:14:42] also super helpful in understanding how to help the bats.
[1:14:48] And spread the word. Talk to your neighbors. A lot
[1:14:50] of its education about the importance of bats. And changing
[1:14:53] the attitude that that's, you know what? They're not scary.
[1:14:57] They're incredibly important for us as humans and for the
[1:14:59] ecosystem. Yeah. Susan, one other question. Talk to us about
[1:15:07] bat boxes, right? Yeah. Actually, I'm glad you said that.
[1:15:10] I'm. Just kind of curious if that's a good thing,
[1:15:12] bad thing. How do you view that? With the white
[1:15:15] nose syndrome as well. I think it's a good thing
[1:15:18] again to try to make bats lives easier, right? We
[1:15:21] actually talked about with our building and historic preservation group
[1:15:26] is they be willing to build sort of larger structures
[1:15:29] that would house bats. And they're totally down with that,
[1:15:34] so we're going to try that. Eventually. But. It doesn't
[1:15:40] have to be like a bat boxy stick on the
[1:15:41] side of a house. It can be an actual, like,
[1:15:43] a shed structure. With certain little heidi holes and nooks
[1:15:46] and things for the bats. Great. Yeah. Trace Baker post
[1:15:51] sack. Susan. That was an excellent, detailed presentation. I loved
[1:15:56] all the photographs. Great. So. Thank you. My question. One
[1:16:01] of your slides. Had a picture of the continental us.
[1:16:07] And Mexico and Canada with infected areas. And I noticed
[1:16:12] that those areas are not contiguous. And so. How does
[1:16:18] the syndrome propagate across those very large areas? That's a
[1:16:24] great question. You're right. You're saying some counties don't have
[1:16:27] it. There was, like, none in Idaho. Yeah. There. That's
[1:16:34] the picture. Well, wait. Nevada? Yes. So basically it showed
[1:16:41] up in New York in 2006. It's been moving across.
[1:16:46] The country ever since. So it's now arriving in the
[1:16:48] west. So that explains Idaho and Nevada and Utah, arizona.
[1:16:52] It just hasn't gotten there yet, and we're hoping it
[1:16:54] doesn't. Okay. That's why I wanted to mention Utah, because
[1:16:56] that's pretty. Bad that it showed up there. In Florida?
[1:17:00] I can't explain, other than it's warm and they don't.
[1:17:03] Hibernate. Probably in Florida. We don't have a lot of
[1:17:05] hibernating. Batch in Florida. And then some of those areas
[1:17:09] probably don't have suitable hibernation areas for bats. You need
[1:17:16] that substrate. You need mines, you need caves. Carl's bed
[1:17:20] caverns. Got white nose bat. Where is that? Mexico. It
[1:17:28] sure looks like it. Yeah, I think I heard that.
[1:17:31] It's recently confirmed. That Christine Johnson Post act.
[1:17:43] That makes me wonder what kind of federal resources and
[1:17:47] federal coordination there is. And to what extent people are
[1:17:53] looking for it, or are we on our own and
[1:17:55] just. Working within the county and with CPW. Maybe someone
[1:18:01] else knows that. I don't know. I don't think the
[1:18:04] federal response it took a long time for the feds
[1:18:06] to get. Interested. I think if you tie it back
[1:18:10] to the damage to humans. In fact, here's something that
[1:18:14] was released last year. So in the county's back east
[1:18:17] that have white no syndrome and all these die offs.
[1:18:24] It's been shown that farmers have to use 35% more
[1:18:27] chemicals and pesticides and that has been. A direct connected
[1:18:32] the dots directly to an increase in infant mortality. 8%
[1:18:37] increase. So that's a pretty stark tie in. And you
[1:18:41] would hope that that would get federal. Response. I'm sure
[1:18:45] there's money. I don't know why it's not like they're
[1:18:48] pouring money into this because bats are critical for us.
[1:18:53] I don't want to misspeak. I'm not all that knowledgeable
[1:18:56] about it. But I mentioned that a couple of species.
[1:19:02] Are supposed to be listed soon. Like the tricolored bat
[1:19:04] with the fish and Wildlife Service. And my guess is
[1:19:06] that's on hold for a while, which means I won't.
[1:19:08] Get that kind of federal protection, unfortunately. Right now. I
[1:19:13] mean, it was supposed to be listed a year ago.
[1:19:15] I don't know. What the hold up is. Yeah. Other
[1:19:20] questions. Susan paula fitzgerald, so I know this is just
[1:19:25] one. Of many things on your plate that you're monitoring,
[1:19:33] you're studying. You're trying to mitigate certain things, and I
[1:19:38] just want to applaud your efforts, because this is huge.
[1:19:41] This is a big project, and I hope you have
[1:19:44] staffing. And I know you probably have support from parks
[1:19:49] and open space, but I'm just impressed. By. Here. You've
[1:19:55] been given this. In just very recent years. And being
[1:20:00] able to manage everything together is a big thing. To
[1:20:04] you and good luck on it. Thank you. Other comments.
[1:20:12] Thank you, Susan. That was a great presentation. We really
[1:20:15] appreciate it. Thank you. Is there anybody here in the
[1:20:19] audience that wanted to comment on this agenda item? See?
[1:20:25] None. Nick, is there anybody online? I'll give a second
[1:20:29] for anybody on the zoom call. If you would like
[1:20:31] to make a public comment for this agenda item, please
[1:20:34] use the raise hand feature. I am not seeing any
[1:20:38] raised hands. Great. Thank you, Nick. Thank you, Susan. Thank
[1:20:41] you. Okay, we're going to move to public comment period
[1:20:48] for items not on the agenda and I think we
[1:20:51] have some folks here in the audience. That were planning
[1:20:54] to speak to us. Would you like to come up
[1:20:59] and talk to us? Anybody? I have a list, it
[1:21:03] looks like. I think, Nick, that you gave me is
[1:21:06] Cindy Johnson. And then deborah kanette, eileen, carmen, janie.
[1:21:18] Is that your whole crew? They're not all here. Some
[1:21:21] people. Were giving me their minutes online. I thought they
[1:21:27] had to be here. I don't know. Did they have
[1:21:29] to be here? Who knows? I think what would be
[1:21:33] helpful if you're pooling time. To just cap it at
[1:21:37] ten minutes. Would be great. I think I can do
[1:21:41] that. Thank you. And if you'll state your name. And
[1:21:45] where you live in Boulder county. No address, specific information,
[1:21:49] just like where generally. Last time I was here. There's
[1:21:53] only five of you. I know. Nice to see you.
[1:21:56] It's a little overwhelming. Thank you. My name is Cindy
[1:22:02] Johnson, and I'm from Boulder County. I am here to
[1:22:06] continue our discussion. Could you please hold the microphone just
[1:22:09] a little bit closer? To you. Thank you. You have
[1:22:12] to get really close to these. I am here to
[1:22:16] continue our discussion on horse communities. Thoughts and concerns on
[1:22:20] the cancellation of our public open writing sessions in the
[1:22:23] winter months. One day a week at the Boulder county
[1:22:26] fairground. As you know, there are hundreds of historical equine
[1:22:31] activities and event. Events. And agricultural events taking place at
[1:22:35] the fairgrounds. We no doubt will be working together in
[1:22:39] the future on these events and therefore we wish to
[1:22:41] keep our relationships good and amicable with you. We respect
[1:22:48] your commitment to parks and open space, but want to
[1:22:50] make sure the decisions concerning the fairgrounds were made. With.
[1:22:56] Accurate information. And adequate public input. The information we have
[1:23:01] received leads us to believe this decision was driven by
[1:23:05] staff without connecting with the actual stakeholders who are affected
[1:23:09] by this decision. To begin, the horse community would like
[1:23:13] some answers. To our questions, and I know you can't
[1:23:16] answer them at this time, but maybe we could have
[1:23:18] an audience later. First question. We submitted a petition. With
[1:23:26] over 100 signatures signed by Boulder county residents. This is
[1:23:30] just a copy of it. A lot of these people
[1:23:32] were in the indoor arena attending an equine event when
[1:23:35] we collected the signatures. They were shocked. We gave the
[1:23:39] petition to the county commissioners to share with you and
[1:23:43] review. Or comment. Our question is. Did you see it?
[1:23:48] If so, what was your response, and did it mean
[1:23:52] anything to you and Cindy? Could I ask? When you
[1:23:55] gave it to the commissioners. In September, I believe. Okay.
[1:24:00] Thanks. You bet. What are your reasons for the second
[1:24:04] one is what are your reasons for closing the only
[1:24:06] public indoor riding session one day a week. We were
[1:24:09] told that there were not enough staff. Is that true.
[1:24:13] When we wrote letters to you, Pozack staff responded. Another
[1:24:18] reason they gave us was you had a tight budget.
[1:24:22] And quote and the amount of revenue it generates. And
[1:24:25] staff time does not add up to keeping it open
[1:24:27] and that you are not going to change your opinion.
[1:24:31] End quote. We pay a minimum usage fee along with
[1:24:35] our taxes for this service. With all due respect, this
[1:24:38] public writing session is supposed to be a community service.
[1:24:42] Open space is a beautiful example of the gift, community
[1:24:45] service that you already give us, and we so appreciate
[1:24:48] it. So how is this any different is what I'm
[1:24:51] asking. Can you tell us what is currently scheduled in
[1:24:55] the indoor arena on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We were
[1:24:59] informed it was for doing maintenance on equipment. Is that
[1:25:03] true? And if that is. So don't you have an
[1:25:05] operations facility? And I'm certainly hoping you're not using the
[1:25:09] indoor arena as a garage. Okay, number four, with all
[1:25:14] the information and knowledge you have gained over the last
[1:25:16] six months from our communications with you. Have you decided
[1:25:20] that now is the time to take some favorable action
[1:25:23] before the winter is over. I have been passionately trying
[1:25:26] to find a simple solution for all of this. I'm
[1:25:30] so determined, it prompted me to do some research on
[1:25:33] my own with other fairgrounds and how they handle open
[1:25:36] writing sessions. By contrast, I discovered our neighbors at Jefferson
[1:25:41] county fairgrounds have used a practical approach that can serve
[1:25:45] as an example of a best practices solution. The events
[1:25:49] coordinator schedules open ride dates based on how many of
[1:25:52] the 900 equine events that are going on and chooses
[1:25:55] a slow day? During the week to offer open ride.
[1:25:59] She then contacts her operations manager and they get it
[1:26:01] ready. She said it's no big. Deal and that it
[1:26:04] takes them one day to prepare the arena for usage.
[1:26:07] They also have a John Deere tractor, just like our
[1:26:10] fairgrounds has. And they say it's old and they only
[1:26:13] do maintenance on it two times a month or as
[1:26:16] needed. We would like to know what is going on
[1:26:19] in the indoor arena again Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I
[1:26:22] went by there today and there was nothing going on.
[1:26:24] It looked immaculate. It looked clean and it was ready
[1:26:27] for horses. Surely there must be one of those three
[1:26:31] weekdays that Rebecca and Joe could schedule three or four
[1:26:33] times a month for public open ride if Boulder wants
[1:26:37] to. Pride itself on being an inclusive community. We need
[1:26:40] to change our current model and practices to include this
[1:26:43] essential part of our agricultural heritage. Without it, we are
[1:26:47] being exclusive, which will cause us to lose touch with
[1:26:49] our roots. I have a whole diatribe of stuff I
[1:26:53] was going to say to you. Still have five minutes
[1:26:57] and 40. I'll continue. So this isn't our first rodeo,
[1:27:03] and this is just a bump in. A bump in.
[1:27:05] The road to us. But we remember. 25 years ago,
[1:27:09] I stood in front of you. When open space was
[1:27:12] worried about the possibility that hordes of people would be
[1:27:15] using open space. So we needed to work together on
[1:27:19] how to make it sustainable for all users. We spent
[1:27:22] countless hours helping Pozac, agonizing over all sorts of concerns
[1:27:28] to preserve our horse communities. Rights and others to ride
[1:27:31] and enjoy open space. We were told many things that
[1:27:35] we proved not to be true. Here are just a
[1:27:38] few to give you an example. Horses cause social trails.
[1:27:42] Not true. Horses have 4ft that land in different places.
[1:27:45] Unlike a bicycle tread that creates a social trail with
[1:27:48] a single line. Number two. Horses are a threat to
[1:27:51] wildlife. Not true. We simply explain the predator prey relationship.
[1:27:56] Horses are prey animals, just like wildlife. They are not
[1:27:59] a threat. Dogs are. However, they are predators. Horses. Spread
[1:28:03] noxious weeds. Not true. Horses avoid them in the pasture
[1:28:07] and it would be irresponsible if we, the stewards of
[1:28:09] our. Horses and the land fed them weeds. We do
[1:28:13] not feed our horses noxious weeds. Therefore, they don't pass
[1:28:16] them. Okay. Let's see. Well. I'm not sure where it
[1:28:26] went. But anyway, truly, I believe. Together. Oh. As a
[1:28:30] result, my involvement with open space. I became an open
[1:28:33] space mountain guide volunteer. Trail guide on horseback. We are
[1:28:37] the eyes and ears for open space. Continuing to protect
[1:28:40] it, I would like to keep my herd of horses
[1:28:42] healthy, sound and in shape so I may continue this.
[1:28:45] Labor of love. In the indoor riding arena. The horse
[1:28:49] community has had the opportunity to speak publicly since August
[1:28:53] to the county commissioners three times. We've been before them
[1:28:57] when we her first heard of the cancellation, and this
[1:28:59] is our second time in front of PoSac. We honestly
[1:29:02] can't. Think of a reasonable cause to shut down. Open
[1:29:05] rise. We can't even use your outdoor. Arena when there
[1:29:08] is snow like today on the ground. I drove by
[1:29:11] it today and it's. Covered with snow. However, the parking
[1:29:13] lot is immaculate and perfectly plowed. So truly. I believe
[1:29:20] together we can create a clear. And easy path to
[1:29:25] a reasonable solution where we all can benefit. Don't you?
[1:29:29] We just. Need to adopt a few neighboring practices and
[1:29:32] be creative to make it easier for the staff to
[1:29:35] implement. For example, an open ride could be offered any
[1:29:38] of those three days. Where the arena is not currently
[1:29:42] being used. They just need to choose. There's so much
[1:29:45] flexibility in this plan. All we are asking for is
[1:29:48] the opportunity to try this again. Let's go back to
[1:29:51] the drawing board. Don't you agree? It's such an easy
[1:29:54] fix we can do. This. So, in closing, I'll leave
[1:29:56] you with this final thought on the best way to
[1:29:59] proceed. And. I am specifically requesting that you decide. Tonight,
[1:30:09] if possible, to reopen the. Boulder fairgrounds public indoor arena
[1:30:14] to open ride in winter months three or four times
[1:30:17] a month this is only with respect to open. Rides
[1:30:22] which benefit our four h kids and the horse community
[1:30:26] at large. You have heard from hundreds of concerned constituents.
[1:30:30] It's time for action. And as my son would say,
[1:30:35] Mom. Pull up your cowboy boots and get her done.
[1:30:38] Thank you. Thank you, Cindy. I really appreciate your comments.
[1:30:42] Sure, that'd be great. Absolutely. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you
[1:30:47] for coming. Do we have other folks here that would
[1:30:52] like to speak as well? Okay, we'll get to those.
[1:30:59] I just want to make sure your fan base here,
[1:31:01] okay? Nick. Do we have folks who are ready to
[1:31:07] speak on zoom? Yeah. For anybody on zoom, use the
[1:31:10] raise hand feature. We got a Howard reinstain I'm. Going
[1:31:13] to allow you to talk, Howard. You'll unmute yourself and
[1:31:17] you'll. Have three minutes. And if you'll please introduce yourself
[1:31:21] and where you live. Thank you. My name is howard.
[1:31:27] Einstein. And I don't live in Boulder County. I live
[1:31:29] in Adams county. But I have been fortunate enough to
[1:31:34] have utilized Boulder county open space. As well as the
[1:31:39] Boulder county indoor fairground facilities. For 25 years. And I
[1:31:45] certainly appreciate that you allow out of county people to
[1:31:48] do that as well. And certainly as an out of
[1:31:52] county person who doesn't pay Boulder county taxes, I have
[1:31:56] no problem with paying an additional fee to be able
[1:31:59] to utilize both your open space, but your indoor riding
[1:32:03] at this time of year. I just want to support
[1:32:06] all of the things that Cindy said. Colorado and Boulder
[1:32:11] county and other counties have always been. Agriculture equestrian. Based.
[1:32:20] Sort of counties. They started that way. The equestrian business.
[1:32:24] The equestrian heritage is strong in Boulder county, strong with
[1:32:29] those of us across the state, and we would like
[1:32:33] an opportunity to be able to continue. To support that
[1:32:37] heritage and those traditions in your community. At your indoor
[1:32:42] arena and would appreciate. You. Reestablishing open sessions, open writing
[1:32:51] sessions for the public. As Cindy said, three or four
[1:32:55] times a week, one day a week. And allow those
[1:33:00] of us in the Boulder county community, as well as
[1:33:04] the extended community, to continue to utilize that wonderful facility.
[1:33:10] And. Help. Boulder county equestrians. Thank you. Thank you, Howard.
[1:33:17] Nick others. Let's go to Heather Middleton. Great heather.
[1:33:27] Are you on? Can you hear me? Yeah, I can.
[1:33:31] Great. Hi. And I live in Boulder county, and I'm
[1:33:35] here to advocate for keeping open writing available. At the
[1:33:39] Boulder County Fairgrounds Indoor horse arena. My daughter recently joined
[1:33:46] four h and as newcomers to the community, How valuable.
[1:33:53] However, I've also noticed how few kids seem to be
[1:33:57] involved, especially in the horse project. One likely reason. Is
[1:34:06] that for months of the year, kids can't. Due to
[1:34:11] the weather, having a public facility like the fairgrounds for
[1:34:15] open writing could make a huge difference in repainting kids
[1:34:19] in the gram. And encouraging new families to join. I
[1:34:25] was fortunate to have a friend guide us into forage.
[1:34:30] Families who don't have that connection. Instead of expanding fostering
[1:34:35] opportunities for youth, it feels resources are being. Moved for
[1:34:42] affordable. Community based programs like for. Heather, we're losing you.
[1:34:54] Your connection is bad, I think.
[1:35:05] Heather, can you hear us? I can hear. Her. We're
[1:35:12] getting a very broken. Oh, shoot. You have
[1:35:22] been to the. City could finish. Can you hear me?
[1:35:30] We're getting bits and pieces. Yes. I will sign off.
[1:35:38] I agree with everything Cindy said. And. Hope that we
[1:35:44] can find a solution. Thank you. Nick. Who else?
[1:35:53] I'm going to give one more second for more hands.
[1:35:58] I don't see any. Rhonda nicole. Okay. Rhonda.
[1:36:12] There she is. Rhonda, are you with us?
[1:36:21] I'm here now. Awesome. Do you want to introduce yourself?
[1:36:25] And you have three minutes for comment. Okay. How about
[1:36:35] now? I'm 72 years old and I'm still riding my
[1:36:44] horses and enjoying the Colorado agriculture community. I am a
[1:36:49] native Colorado. I have used the Boulder county fairground indoor
[1:36:53] arena for decades and I remember the Powow rodeo grounds
[1:37:00] like it was yesterday. It was torn down in the
[1:37:03] late seventy s and the fairgrounds were moved to Longmont.
[1:37:06] Where it has been utilized beautifully ever since. And. I'm
[1:37:11] really grateful for that. But suddenly the indoor arena was
[1:37:15] not available. For winter. Open writing. I don't know the
[1:37:20] reason for closing the winter open riding program. When I
[1:37:25] found out the program was closed. I spent several hours
[1:37:31] collecting signatures for a petition that was given to the
[1:37:35] county commissioners. This petition opposed the closing of the open
[1:37:39] ride. These signatures were from the horse community collected at
[1:37:44] riding clinics. And horse events. Every single person asked me,
[1:37:50] why is Boulder county closing the indoor arena? Several of
[1:37:55] my friends in our horse community have appeared at your
[1:37:58] parks and open space meetings. And have attended the county
[1:38:04] commissioners meetings, and it presented this petition of 120 signatures
[1:38:09] in opposition to closing the arena, and we can certainly
[1:38:14] get more if you need them. We have reached out
[1:38:18] to Boulder county for answers, and we would love to
[1:38:21] have a discussion. For some kind of compromise. So far,
[1:38:26] we have had no answers or discussion on the satisfactory
[1:38:30] resolution. I'm really frustrated that the horse community. Is denied
[1:38:36] this community service by our government. With no genuine discussion.
[1:38:42] Please. I would love to have an answer soon. Thank
[1:38:47] you. Thank you, Rhonda. Nick, do we have anybody else
[1:38:52] online? I am not seeing any other hands raised. Okay.
[1:39:02] Comments thoughts from Posec. Carol. Carol byerly posac. I'm trying
[1:39:11] to understand. The sequence of events here because. It sounds
[1:39:17] like the county commissioners have already made decisions about funding
[1:39:21] for this. And usually we see things before. They act.
[1:39:28] And so we are kind of disarmed in a way.
[1:39:32] And so I'm wondering. If. That, and I haven't seen
[1:39:39] the petition. And apparently they've been speaking to the county
[1:39:45] commissioners, but. This is new to us as of last
[1:39:49] month. We did actually hear a little bit about. When
[1:39:54] we talked about the fairgrounds. Fairground? Sorry. Probably October, I'm
[1:39:59] guessing. Jared, do you have much of a memory of
[1:40:04] sequence of events and where we're at? With all this.
[1:40:09] Yeah, Tony, we do have one more comment. Bring pam
[1:40:17] andringa. Great. Pam. Two. And introduce yourself and take three
[1:40:23] minutes. Absolutely. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Thank
[1:40:28] you. I'm Pam Andringa, and. I live in Boulder county,
[1:40:31] unincorporated. And I just want to thank all of you,
[1:40:35] first of all, for amazing work that you do. And
[1:40:39] the amazing care for those little bats that are suffering.
[1:40:43] And preserving the riding opportunities that we do have in
[1:40:46] open space. It's really great to see that you've made
[1:40:50] a lot of efforts in that. Area, and also with
[1:40:53] the help of Cindy and all the other equine community
[1:40:56] that. Has persevered to keep those opportunities available. I think
[1:41:00] one of the frustrations initially. When we were hearing kind
[1:41:04] of the final closure of the Boulder county fairgrounds for
[1:41:07] open riding. Was that? There wasn't enough money in the
[1:41:13] budget to keep it open, although they had no way.
[1:41:17] Of telling us or reporting. What it costs to keep
[1:41:21] it open. And then. The complication was also that the
[1:41:26] tractor wasn't working properly. And. It just seemed like a
[1:41:33] bit of an excuse that hadn't really been investigated. And
[1:41:37] so it felt a little premature to be able to
[1:41:39] say that there wasn't enough. Money to keep it open.
[1:41:44] And that there wasn't enough equipment and it was too
[1:41:46] much work. Where? Every other. Community fairground that I've investigated.
[1:41:54] They have even more open opportunities to ride. And it
[1:41:59] doesn't seem to be a very big issue, and it
[1:42:01] doesn't seem to be an expense that can't be managed.
[1:42:05] And so I think that was part of the frustration
[1:42:07] with the community that it seems sort of short sighted.
[1:42:12] And. Narrowly envisioned by a small group of people. And
[1:42:18] it wasn't necessarily. Open discussion. So I think that was
[1:42:24] a lot of the confusion or the frustration, and then
[1:42:27] just the loss of that great opportunity to be able
[1:42:30] to maintain. People's horses during the winter months when it's
[1:42:34] not feasible to ride outside and what I just want
[1:42:38] to add for sure as well is that. You don't
[1:42:42] see a lot of usage of that open opportunity, but
[1:42:45] the usage that you do have is widespread throughout the
[1:42:50] equine community because every one of the people that are
[1:42:52] involved in riding there. Are outreach people that are helping.
[1:42:59] With. Four H and with other community projects. And community
[1:43:03] services. And for them to be able to keep the
[1:43:08] ability to ride and keep their horses manageable. And help,
[1:43:11] as Cindy said. Also. With open space management. From the
[1:43:15] equine perspective, it's really critical that they have that opportunity.
[1:43:19] So I just hope that it can be reconsidered. Thank
[1:43:21] you very much. Thank you. I appreciate your comments. I
[1:43:26] really appreciate you all coming in and talking to us
[1:43:29] both in person and online, and I really appreciate the
[1:43:33] respectful way you've come to us. And very thoughtful comments.
[1:43:42] I would like to. Task staff with giving us an
[1:43:48] update. And kind of a history. Of this issue from
[1:43:54] back in October, I think it was, when we had
[1:43:58] the fairgrounds manager come and I apologize. I can't remember
[1:44:01] his name. Joe. Joe. Walk us through. The public comment,
[1:44:09] the decisions recommended by staff, the decisions. We incorporated into
[1:44:17] approval of the new fairgrounds contracts and operating procedures. And
[1:44:23] then through the county commissioner. Timeline to understand. How all
[1:44:28] this got done because I think it would be a
[1:44:30] great refresher for all. Of us especially. And. I can't
[1:44:38] imagine that we couldn't have a conversation and try to
[1:44:42] find some. Way. Of making some middle ground here. So.
[1:44:50] I feel like for us on Postac, we need to
[1:44:52] get back to the place of understanding. The decisions and
[1:44:56] timeline and the reasons. And then I think we would
[1:45:01] love to have that conversation. So if we could do
[1:45:05] that, we have a February 27 meeting. And maybe, I
[1:45:13] don't know if we have time, if you have time
[1:45:15] to do any. Of that legwork before our retreat. We
[1:45:22] could talk, maybe offline about that, but it might be
[1:45:24] nice to be able. To. Juice this a little bit.
[1:45:29] Trace. Trace baker. Posac. In addition to the topics that
[1:45:36] Tony just asked for, There is. A possible or perceived
[1:45:44] breakdown in communication. Between staff and the public and would
[1:45:51] like to have that addressed also. Yeah. I think that's
[1:45:57] part of what I'm just searching for, to understand in
[1:45:59] the timeline of decision making. And public input. So that
[1:46:05] whole kind of process timeline. True. And then paula drew
[1:46:11] adams posak. Was mentioned in the presentation that some of
[1:46:15] the surrounding counties are able to offer open riding opportunities.
[1:46:21] For their residents. So I'd like to extend the request
[1:46:24] to have a comparison to some of the surrounding. County.
[1:46:30] Equine opportunities that might exist, what their costs breakdown might
[1:46:34] be, and in addition to that, what number of hours
[1:46:37] they provide. And I would also add on there what
[1:46:41] methods they use to stay in contact with their members.
[1:46:44] And their participants in their arenas because it sounds as
[1:46:47] if. This is just something that we've heard echoed through
[1:46:51] several of these meetings with the same topic where there
[1:46:54] is a breakdown in the communication. The perception was that
[1:46:57] the members were communicated with but then we heard, I
[1:47:01] think it was two sessions ago, where we had a
[1:47:04] very large audience. Of participants from riders who were saying
[1:47:07] the first they ever heard about it is when they
[1:47:09] attempted to. Ride and they noticed that the gates were
[1:47:12] shut, so to speak. We also discussed once before about
[1:47:16] the financial concerns about the maintenance issues for the tractor
[1:47:20] and some of these other items, and I believe Therese
[1:47:22] spoke a little bit about their budget of what they
[1:47:25] might have. So there might be an opportunity for us
[1:47:27] to look and see what are the budgetary? Constraints that
[1:47:30] they might have for their operational cost and potentially some
[1:47:33] of the other types of inf. Infrastructure and capital improvements
[1:47:35] that maybe they want to put forth to the community
[1:47:37] to say maybe there's a way for the community. If
[1:47:40] you really want to see this continue, there could be
[1:47:43] a shared cost or another opportunity to say if there
[1:47:45] needs to replace the tractor or maybe there's a goFundMe
[1:47:49] type of activity that could happen on your side to
[1:47:51] encourage this type of facility to stay open if. It's
[1:47:55] an operational cost concern. Thanks, Paula. Thanks. Paula Fitzgerald. Posek.
[1:48:02] And to just reiterate a little bit, What we talked
[1:48:06] about last month. It sounds like there definitely was a
[1:48:10] communication breakdown. I think it was a little bit. Of
[1:48:14] lack of information, possibly, from what I hear from the
[1:48:17] county's part, but also possibly not an activation or a
[1:48:22] collection of the members part to really participate in those
[1:48:26] sessions. Which. Were to the wise. Those are the times
[1:48:30] to speak up beforehand rather than later. I'd mentioned that
[1:48:35] there's some very talented staff on public process. In Boulder
[1:48:40] county and that hopefully sharing some of. Their best practices
[1:48:46] for outreach would be a benefit in this situation. One
[1:48:50] thing that. Has come up in my mind since then.
[1:48:54] Is that not too many months ago, we saw a
[1:48:56] master plan for the fairgrounds. With a lot of. Very
[1:49:01] fancy and beautiful improvements to the fairgrounds. And yet we
[1:49:07] can't even keep something. As basic. As a once a
[1:49:12] week ride throughout the winter months. Open. So I would
[1:49:17] pass the county to look at those kinds of master
[1:49:21] plan efforts. Because if you lead a master plan effort
[1:49:26] too far ahead, Of when it's actually going to be
[1:49:31] implemented. You may have lost your whole support group by
[1:49:36] the time that implementation happens, and it's sort of to
[1:49:39] me, a wasted effort. So I'd suggest that. A good
[1:49:47] evaluation be done on affordability? Before a master plan and
[1:49:52] process has taken place. And then looking for ways. Of
[1:49:58] maintaining something. As strong for the agricultural community. To me,
[1:50:03] this seems like. Sort of central. Focus of a fairgrounds
[1:50:10] anywhere is to have these kinds of opportunities, especially for
[1:50:14] forage kids. I mean, that's kind of our future farmers
[1:50:17] and our future people. And it seems like. We do
[1:50:22] a lot of. Head nodding about how we need to
[1:50:26] provide. For our kids and give them good, healthy activities.
[1:50:32] And yet we can't afford this. Anyway. I will be
[1:50:38] gone when this happens. But. I think it's a worthwhile
[1:50:43] topic to discuss in the future and keep in front
[1:50:46] of the commissioners who apparently have made the decision for
[1:50:49] this year. But maybe we can get it ahead of
[1:50:53] next year. And try to get something back in place.
[1:50:58] Thank you, Janet. Yeah. I'd like to see a little
[1:51:03] more detail on just how much does it cost to
[1:51:06] have one day of open writing. I heard it was
[1:51:09] 12 hours long. Maybe there's an option to make it
[1:51:12] shorter. I mean, how many times do you have to
[1:51:14] drag the arena? I don't think they're. Out there every
[1:51:17] hour dragging the arena twice. Okay, but to just hear
[1:51:20] from Joe. And some dollar figures. On just how much
[1:51:24] this really would cost. Staff time. Does somebody actually be
[1:51:31] there the whole time? I know when I used to
[1:51:33] do it, and it was probably 25 years ago, 20
[1:51:36] years ago. I don't think anybody was really watching us.
[1:51:39] That closely. Yeah. So I'd like to see just a
[1:51:42] little more detail. I mean, what does it really cost.
[1:51:46] The county to have one day a week, and it's
[1:51:47] not even all year long. I think it's, what, November
[1:51:51] through April, May. Yeah. And if there's some compromise, some
[1:51:56] places that make sense, you could even cut cost. Christine.
[1:52:01] Christine johnson. Drew. Asked. A lot of. The requests that
[1:52:09] I wanted to make, and I just want to underscore
[1:52:12] what he said. And to go into the level of
[1:52:19] detail that's feasible, detail is helpful. I think another issue
[1:52:25] that came up. During. The presentation and then during the
[1:52:32] discussion. Is whether or not. There's adequate time. During the
[1:52:39] week and. I think it would be useful to know.
[1:52:44] Again, how many hours it takes, how many hours prep
[1:52:48] takes, and what the normal schedule or a typical schedule.
[1:52:55] For the facility is particularly in the winter. To have
[1:52:59] a sense. Of. What is the availability, particularly on days
[1:53:05] when it looks like it's empty? Okay. I think we
[1:53:11] beat this horse to death. But. I hope. Staff
[1:53:21] plainly there's a lot more detail around process and understanding
[1:53:26] of how this could work that we would like to
[1:53:29] engage in a conversation about that. And I think we'd
[1:53:33] really like to engage with the community in that conversation
[1:53:36] as well. So I'm happy to work a little bit
[1:53:39] offline with staff to make sure we tee up, making
[1:53:42] sure we get all the right information. For us to
[1:53:45] have that discussion and to ensure that we have a
[1:53:47] good discussion with the community. So thank you all for
[1:53:50] coming in. Really appreciate it. Nick, do we have anybody
[1:53:54] else online and any other topics? From the public. No
[1:54:01] other hands raised. Great. We're going to move to PosTC
[1:54:04] members comment period for items not on the agenda, and
[1:54:08] I'm going to start since I'm still cherry. Didn't get
[1:54:11] rid of me. This meeting, you could have. And. I
[1:54:17] want to just first thank everybody for being here tonight.
[1:54:20] I really appreciate it. And it's a good group of
[1:54:23] really caring people. And it's really nice to all be
[1:54:26] together. It's hard, given everybody's schedules and other commitments, paid
[1:54:31] jobs and kind of problems. Like that. But it's really
[1:54:36] great to have everyone here, and I really appreciate all
[1:54:38] the time you all have put into this. There have
[1:54:42] been some very long sessions, some very hard sessions, and
[1:54:45] you've always approached it. With humility and grace. And someone
[1:54:51] who epitomizes that more than anyone is Paula Fitzgerald. And
[1:54:55] I really want to thank you for your six years
[1:54:57] of service to post that and for bringing me into
[1:55:00] this. Which I may never forgive you for. Now. I
[1:55:06] just really appreciate that a lot. And Jackson, I know
[1:55:11] you're taking off, not. Getting returned this time, and thank
[1:55:16] you for your service. It's been great to have you.
[1:55:18] And your perspective here. Absolutely. We have two other members
[1:55:22] who are asking to be returned, and I hope that
[1:55:26] that is the case. We don't ever know what the
[1:55:31] county commissioners are going to do. That. I think from
[1:55:35] my perspective, I really hope that's the case. Other comments
[1:55:40] from Postac members on any agenda items. Paula. Thank you,
[1:55:47] Tony. That was very sweet. And I just wanted to
[1:55:50] give a shout out to the county staff. You are
[1:55:54] a huge resource. I mean, your knowledge is so extensive,
[1:55:59] the way you work with the public and between. Yourselves
[1:56:02] to try to coordinate so that everybody's on the same
[1:56:05] page working together. It's really admirable. And I think. It's
[1:56:12] obviously a benefit to all the projects you work on
[1:56:14] and all the issues you take on. And I also.
[1:56:19] Want to thank fellow members here. It's a great group
[1:56:23] of people. Part of me is like, okay, I'm ready
[1:56:27] to be done. Time for new energy here. But it's
[1:56:32] been a pleasure, and I've learned a tremendous amount. I
[1:56:36] hope to keep involved with some of the other things,
[1:56:39] like the conservation easement, monitoring and maybe some other opportunities.
[1:56:45] But anyway. I think a couple of the things. The
[1:56:49] county does so well. Besides our information given for these
[1:56:54] meetings. And the good presentations and the knowledge of the
[1:56:58] staff are the field trips. I mean, those are just
[1:57:02] fantastic opportunities. And for some of the members who. Have
[1:57:07] jobs still. Come on. Get your priority straight. But they
[1:57:14] are wonderful opportunities to learn and to see some of
[1:57:17] these beautiful sites that we've purchased. And manage. With county
[1:57:22] dollars. Anyway, keep up the good work. Thank you. Thank
[1:57:27] you, Paula. Really appreciate it. Other comments Jackson Tony Jackson
[1:57:31] Mueller Post act I want to follow up with Paul
[1:57:33] is about learning. I know. The application window is closed,
[1:57:38] but to Cindy and others that may still be online,
[1:57:43] please consider applying. I learned a ton about civics. And
[1:57:48] decision making at the county. And learning about the parks
[1:57:52] and open space department that I wasn't aware of just
[1:57:55] from my own little bubble of using. There's so much
[1:57:57] more out there to learn about, so. I just wanted
[1:57:59] to put that plug for the next window. That's awesome.
[1:58:05] Thanks. Okay. We have our new director giving us the
[1:58:11] director report tonight. You should be acting. You should just
[1:58:16] do whatever you want since you're acting. Good evening. Post
[1:58:23] act Jarrett Roberts, acting director. Teresa's out at least till
[1:58:26] Monday. I have a few updates. It's pretty short. First
[1:58:31] update, Aguan wanted you all to. Know that the soil
[1:58:34] health grants came in and we had 15 grants for
[1:58:37] over 350k. For things like compost and soil amendments, and
[1:58:41] we hope those agreements will be out by late. February.
[1:58:45] With all the fires that are going on. I'm in
[1:58:46] California. I'm sure fire is on all of our minds.
[1:58:48] So wanted a quick update that there have been burdens.
[1:58:52] West of lions. You may have seen those. Those are
[1:58:54] controlled burns. And then we are considering and looking. At
[1:58:56] doing burns at Highle and hall the next coming days
[1:59:01] with the sheriff's office. So that's on your radar. We
[1:59:05] just completed. A study with no coat, places to look
[1:59:09] at our illegal trails, and we came in with just
[1:59:11] over 60 miles from that study. That's not to say
[1:59:14] that's comprehensive of the entire area. But it's what came
[1:59:19] in from that study on parks and open space land
[1:59:22] we're hoping to put together a presentation and bring that
[1:59:24] to you in the next couple post act. Meetings. And
[1:59:28] then just a reminder that you all have the retreat.
[1:59:30] Coming up on February 1, the public part of that
[1:59:33] starts at 1015, and then you all will be there
[1:59:36] a little bit earlier. I think the agenda has been
[1:59:37] sent to you. And then, yeah, just in response to
[1:59:42] the feedback about the fairgrounds, just a reminder that Joe
[1:59:45] was here Jalafala last time. And if you look back
[1:59:47] at the notes there, there. Are some answers to some
[1:59:49] of the questions that were brought up, so I don't
[1:59:52] want to reiterate those, but I will bring that up
[1:59:54] with Teresa and Joe and we'll see if we can
[1:59:56] figure out some way to continue that discussion. Awesome. Thank
[1:59:59] you. Great. Thank you very much. Anything else from Posek?
[2:00:07] Sorry. I know where you want to go. Are we
[2:00:09] sharing any firefighters or anything with California? Sorry, guys. It
[2:00:17] depends if you eat parks and open space or fire
[2:00:20] departments around. Bolton county. Like Wildland. Yeah. So, Stefan Reinhard,
[2:00:26] resource management division manager. So the sheriff's office has a
[2:00:30] fire crew, and it's a county cooperative, and. So they
[2:00:34] have sent a couple of engines and we're there. But
[2:00:39] no park staff. Some of the fire departments have sent
[2:00:44] staff in and. Thanks, Stefan. Sorry. Good question. That's a
[2:00:50] good question. All right, thank you all. We're done.